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Responders used a hook-shaped knife at the end of a 30-foot pole to free the young whale.
View of the humpback whale after being freed. Center for Coastal Studies
A humpback whale entangled in fishing gear was rescued Sunday off the Massachusetts coast, the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown announced.
Late in the morning, recreational boaters reported a whale struggling in a buoy line connected to fishing gear in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, CCS said in a press release.
The center’s Marine Animal Entanglement Response team responded to the area and found a relatively young whale with rope wrapped multiple times around the base of its tail. The entanglement had effectively anchored the whale, forcing it to spend most of its time at the surface, according to CCS.
With winds expected to strengthen, rescuers moved quickly. Using a hook-shaped knife at the end of a 30-foot pole, the team made a series of cuts to remove the ropes, CCS said.
After the whale was freed, it remained at the surface while the MAER team monitored it as it gradually regained mobility, CCS added.
Although the whale suffered injuries from the entanglement, responders said they are “reasonably confident” it will recover.
The whale has been spotted frequently by whale-watch operators over the past month due to deep but healing wounds around its body prior to entanglement, according to CCS. Researchers with the organization’s Humpback Whale Studies Program are working to identify the animal.
“It was really great that so many people and institutions helped out in this case,” MAER Assistant Director Bob Lynch said in the release. “The whale has a much better prognosis due to that.”
CCS credited several agencies and organizations with assisting in the rescue, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, Massachusetts Environmental Police, TowBoatUS, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
“It was an honor to help this whale and great to continue the collaboration between our teams,” Maria Harvey, of HIHWNMS, said.
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