Rescue operation frees humpback whale off northern B.C.

A humpback whale was so entangled in fishing gear, ropes and buoys that it took four days for a Fisheries Department crew to unravel the mess, Paul Cottrell said.

A humpback whale was so entangled in fishing gear, ropes and buoys that it took four days for a Fisheries Department crew to unravel the mess, Paul Cottrell said.

The rescue off British Columbia's coast between Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii was one of the longest he had ever taken part in, he said.

It was clear the animal had been trapped for months, said Cottrell, a marine mammal co-ordinator with the department.

"We didn't even know how to start on this animal because it was so constricted. Its mouth was closed with two wraps around the head, and there were ropes through the mouth, around the body," said Cottrell.

He said the team had to make 50 cuts to get the ropes and gear off.

"This poor animal was showing evidence of being exhausted and hadn't been feeding for quite a while," said Cottrell, adding that the gear they removed came from Canada and the United States, indicating the long journey the whale had taken while wrapped in fishing gear.

Cottrell said there's been "a real uptick in entanglements" like this one off B.C.'s coast, which he suspects is related to an influx of humpback whales in the area.