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.

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.

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.

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.

A third endangered North Atlantic right whale was found tangled in fishing gear off the East Coast last Monday, just days after two others had been recovered in critical condition near Nantucket. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found a North Atlantic right whale stuck about 60 miles east of the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Dec.