Entangled humpback whale in B.C. 'a really challenging' case, DFO says

Marine mammal rescuers in British Columbia are searching for an entangled humpback whale in the waters off northern Vancouver Island.

Marine mammal rescuers in British Columbia are searching for an entangled humpback whale in the waters off northern Vancouver Island.

The three-year-old whale, known as Vector, was photographed by a wildlife tour operator on Friday in the Johnstone Strait near Campbell River. The photos, shared online, show a length of rope or fishing gear wrapped tightly around the mammal.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is actively searching the area using boats and aerial drones, and is asking all mariners in the Salish Sea to be on the lookout for the imperiled animal.

Paul Cottrell, a marine mammal co-ordinator with the federal agency, says the entanglement is difficult to see and would be extremely difficult to disentangle due to the relatively short length of gear wrapped around the humpback.

"The animal is also very mobile," Cottrell told CTV News on Tuesday. "It's a really unfortunate and difficult entanglement, but if we can get a working line on it we will."

The distressed humpback was first reported by the Vancouver Island-based Marine Education and Research Society, which shared the tour operator's photos on social media in an effort to locate the mammal.

The non-profit group is asking boaters to keep an eye out for the humpback but maintain a distance of at least 200 metres from it and other whales. The group says the whale is identifiable by its unique dorsal fin.