The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) disentangled a humpback whale yesterday afternoon off the coast of Massachusetts. The young whale was anchored in fishing gear in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and was freed by the Marine Animal Entanglement Response team (MAER) at CCS. While the whale sustained some injuries from the entanglement, the MAER team feels reasonably confident that it will recover.
Late in the morning on June 14, recreational boaters reported a relatively small whale struggling in the buoy line of fishing gear. The boaters reported the sighting to the US Coast Guard, who contacted the NOAA Fisheries and CCS hotlines. The Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP) were on patrol nearby and volunteered to stand by the whale while the MAER team mounted a response during a very short window of calm seas. TowBoatUS overheard the report and offered to stand by.
Once on scene the team found a relatively young humpback whale with multiple wraps of rope around the base of its tail. The whale was effectively anchored by the entanglement and spent most of its time at the surface. Considering winds were forecasted to increase considerably, the team worked quickly to assess its condition and attempt disentanglement. Approaching from behind, the team used a hook-shaped knife at the end of a thirty-foot pole to make a series of cuts to the wraps of rope at its tail, eventually freeing the whale. Once freed the whale held still at the surface for some time, so the team stayed with the whale while it eventually regained its mobility.
“It was really great that so many people and institutions helped out in this case. The whale has a much better prognosis due to that,” said MAER Assistant Director Bob Lynch.
The whale has been seen by whale watchers frequently over the last month, and generated a large number of reports to the MAER hotline, due to deep but healing wounds around its body due to a prior entanglement.
The CCS Humpback Whale Studies Program is working to identify the individual. The MAER team was joined by a responder from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary as part of an ongoing partnership. Maria Harvey of the Sanctuary said, “It was an honor to help this whale and great to continue the collaboration between our teams.”
Many thanks go to the Good Samaritan boaters who reported the whale, to the USCG, TowBoatUS, NOAA Fisheries, MEP and the HIHWNMS.
Boaters are urged to report any entanglement sightings of whales, sea-turtles or other marine animals to the MAER team (1-800-900-3622) or the US Coast Guard on VHF 16, and to stand by the animal at a safe distance until trained responders arrive.
CCS disentanglement work is supported in part by grants from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA-DMF), the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, and private foundations and donors. All disentanglement activities are conducted under a federal permit authorized by NOAA.
Photo at top: View from behind the whale as the MAER team uses a hook-shaped knife at the end of a thirty-foot pole to free the whale. CCS image, taken under NOAA permit 24359.
Photo below: View of the whale after being freed. Note the red wounds from its most recent entanglement near the tail and the deep, but healing wound, near its head from a prior entanglement. CCS image, taken under NOAA permit 24359.