May 12, 2014

A humpback whale that got entangled in crab pot gear was set free by a team of Cascadia Research and the Coast Guard and National Marine Fisheries Service. The humpback whale got trapped near Grays Harbor and was completely immobilized being in the net.

The whale, which was estimated to be around 40 ft long, had crab gear around its tailstock and flukes having algae on it. This shows that the net must have been on the whale for some time now.

Rescuers said they faced no problem while freeing the whale as it cooperated with them. After hours of hard work, the whale got free and it quickly swam away into waters and has not been seen again since then.

A commercial crab boater first spotted the trapped whale, which was three to four years old. Seeing the condition of the whale, the boater immediately informed the Grays Harbour Coast Guard and the Guard understanding the severity of the condition called the Cascadia Research Center.

The Center sent a team of responders to the scene and the volunteers started cutting the gear. In the meanwhile, the boater helped the rescuers by staying at the scene and alerting other boats to not come near the area, where the rescue work is going on.

Entanglement in fishing gear has become a great problem for these whales, shared the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It also said that due to this problem, humpback whale is still in the Endangered Species List.

From:  French Tribune