Humpback whale tangled in gear freed near Kinghorn Island

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A team from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans rescued a humpback whale that was tangled in rope and other gear.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans freed a humpback whale near Cortes Island on Tuesday that was entangled in a rope, a buoy and prawn trap gear.

DFO first got a call about a distressed humpback whale through the BC Marine Mammal Response Network from recreational boaters and kayakers around Kinghorn Island.

“It appeared that it may be entangled, had a black buoy and was travelling slowly,” DFO official Paul Cottrell said.

Cottrell said DFO was able to go to the whale quickly. The Coast Guard was able to find the whale and DFO officers came from Powell River.

“When we got there, we quickly realized this animal was in real rough shape. It was hogtied from the pectoral fin on the right side all the way to the tail stock and it was wrapped around the tail stocks so the animal had very little movement,” Cottrell said.

WATCH: A team from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans rescued a humpback whale who was tangled in rope and other gear. Courtesy: DFO

The whale was towing more than 150 metres of rope, a buoy and prawn trap gear.

“You could tell by its trumpet blows that it was quite agitated,” Cottrell said.

According to Cottrell, the team assessed the animal and the gear before cutting away the objects. All of the gear was removed within a couple of hours.

“You could tell the animal was relieved once we got it all off as it took off fairly fast,” Cottrell said.

Cottrell said the whale was young, about 30 feet (nine metres) in length, and they are hoping it will be OK, even if it wasn’t in great shape at the time. DFO will be identifying the animal using photos and will monitor its progress.

While humpback whales are sometimes able to get rid of gear themselves, Cottrell said they had an incident up in the same area about four weeks where an individual cut off a buoy but the gear was still left on the animal.

“We’re still trying to locate that animal,” Cottrell said.

The DFO is seeing more humpback whales in inshore waters in the Salish Sea area, especially around Campbell River and Cortes Island.

“Lots of animals. There’s lots of feed, there’s lots of krill and there’s lots of herring,” Cottrell. “In that area in particular and other areas are seeing clusters of humpbacks where there’s a lot of gear in the water, whether its prawn gear, crab gear and a lot of recreational gear.”

As for individuals who see entangled whales in the future, Cottrell said it’s important to call the DFO when they see an animal trailing gear and stay away from the animal, as well as the gear.

“The quicker that we get these calls and respond, the higher likelihood that we’re going to be successful,” Cottrell said.

To report an entangled animal, call the DFO at 1-800-465-4336.

WATCH: A team from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans rescued a humpback whale who was tangled in rope and other gear. Courtesy: DFO

Powell River Humpback Rescue Aug 29 2017

Powell River Humpback Rescue Aug 29 2017

Duration 2m

Alexa HuffmanAlexa Huffman

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