Young humpback whale saved from 'dangerous entanglement' off northern Vancouver Island
CTV
Marine mammal rescuers have successfully come to the assistance of another entangled juvenile humpback whale in B.C.
Marine mammal rescuers have successfully come to the assistance of another entangled juvenile humpback whale in B.C.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) received a report of a young humpback whale entangled in prawn gear in the Broughton Archipelago on Sunday.
Fortunately, a DFO team was already in the area heading to Haida Gwaii, B.C., to perform a whale necropsy when the call came in.
The team found the entangled whale near Port Hardy, B.C., and were able to tag it with a satellite tracker.
On Monday, crews were able to find the whale again thanks to the satellite tracker placed on it and went to work removing the gear, which included buoys being dragged behind the juvenile humpback.
"We located the whale and it was exhausted. It actually had multiple wraps around the tail – over 400 feet of rope," said Paul Cottrell, marine mammal coordinator for the DFO.
"There were some injuries on the tail stock and then when we got closer we realized it was also hogtied through the mouth, so it was a real complicated and dangerous entanglement," he said.
