The endangered whales are North Atlantic right whales, which number fewer than 400 and are vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement.

There are about 370 North Atlantic right whales alive. In the last week, NOAA has spotted three entangled in fishing gear, two likely fatal.

A North Atlantic right whale was seen near North Carolina wrapped in fishing rope and buoys. Two others were spotted off Massachusetts.

The current population of the North Atlantic right whale stands at less than 400 as the species has grown increasingly vulnerable to collisions with ships and entanglements in gear.

Three critically endangered North Atlantic right whales have been spotted entangled in fishing gear off the Eastern Seaboard this month, a number that a researcher says is "devastating but not unusual.

The sighting of this juvenile whale comes just a week after two other North Atlantic right whales were seen entangled in fishing gear off the Massachusetts coast

The endangered right whales' median age at death is about 22. Southern right whales, a closely related species, generally live into their seventies. The difference? Southern whales aren’t facing entanglements in fishing gear and boat collisions at the same rate.

Three North Atlantic right whales have been spotted entangled in fishing gear off the coast of the U.S. just this month, according to information from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries.

Entanglements and vessel strikes in U.S. and Canadian waters are the main causes of death of North Atlantic right whales, and scientists say fewer than 400 are in existence

For the second time in a week, researchers have spotted an entangled North Atlantic right whale off the American coastline.

The whale spotted off North Carolina has suffered a serious injury and is likely to die as a result of the entanglement, NOAA said.