Marine animal rescuers disentangled a young humpback whale on Sunday. The whale was caught in the buoy line of fishing gear in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, just north of Provincetown.
The Center for Coastal Studies response team reported the whale sustained some injuries but is likely to recover. It also has deep but healing scars from a previous entanglement.
Scott Landry is a member of CCS's Marine Animal Entanglement Response team:
"Likely, the whale had become entangled overnight and was anchored in the gear," Landry said. "And during the struggle to try to free itself, it did cause injuries. We’re hoping, though, that those injuries – the whale will be able to deal with it."
Recreational boaters first reported the injured whale. The rescue team responded and used a hook-shaped knife at the end of a thirty-foot pole to cut the rope away from the whale. Landry said The forecast for Sunday was rough, but they were able to work in a short window of good weather.
While a number of things went right for this whale on Sunday, Landry said the amount of rope in the ocean is a problem for whales.
"It does seem like there is so much rope that the majority of whales, of all species that we study, have not avoided it in their lifetimes," he said. "And most whales have become entangled multiple times in their lifetimes."
Landry urged anyone who sees an entangled whale or sea turtle to call the Marine Animal Entanglement Response hotline at 800-900-3622.
“In this case the whale survived it because somebody reported it. We were able to disentangle it. But a lot of whales don’t have that kind of luck,” Landry said.
