The Marine Animal Entanglement Response (MAER) team at the Center for Coastal Studies disentangled a humpback whale off Rockport, MA today. The young whale is expected to make a full recovery.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 4, recreational boaters came across a small humpback whale with a buoy from fishing gear in tow. They immediately reported the sighting to the US Coast Guard who passed the information along to the MAER hotline. Due to time and distance no response could be mounted that day. The MAER team sent out a message to the disentanglement network to keep an eye out for the whale.
On Wednesday morning the MAER team set out from Provincetown to look for the whale. The Rockport harbormaster, along with NOAA staff, also headed out to join the search. By late morning a recreational boater came across the whale and reported the sighting.
Once on scene, the MAER team worked to affix a grappling hook to rope that was caught in the whale’s mouth. Working from a small inflatable boat, the team used the entangling rope to pull up behind the whale to cut away the fishing buoy. The team then added large floats to the rope, the drag of which pulled the remaining entanglement from the whale. The whale then sped off out of Ipswich Bay.
Many thanks go to the recreational boaters who promptly reported this case, and to the Rockport Harbormaster, NOAA and the USCG.
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.
(Photos to come.)