Rescuers Having A Whale Of A Time

"We could get a really good bird's-eye view. We knew exactly how the gear was through the mouth."

"There was a buoy on the left side, or the port side of the animal, through the mouth and then on the right side, there was a line protruding -- trailing much behind the animal much behind the buoy."

"That rope in the mouth would prevent the animal from successfully foraging so it was being impacted that way."

"The rope can continue to wear into the flesh and sometimes be ingested. So it can be definitely a lethal situation."

"It complicated things significantly because not only were we worried about the animals [accompanying whales following the larger, injured whale] getting entangled in that trailing gear from being so close to the whale, also how they would react once we started working to remove the gear."

"They [travel companions] do travel together and often you'll get the same animals travelling together. Why they chose to continue with this animal when it was under duress and entangled? We don't know."

"The animal reacted to that tension and did a spy-hop up and a backflip ... it actually just popped all the line out. So, the plan worked perfectly."

Paul Cottrell, Pacific marine mammal rescue lead, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Rescuers work to save an entangled humpback whale in B.C. waters on Oct. 21, 2022. (Department of Fisheries and Oceans & McGill Drone Imaging Department)

 

A whale rescued from entanglement in fishing gear, a situation that was becoming increasingly dangerous for the preservation of the whale's life. And observant and concerned witnesses to its plight were ultimately responsible in their alerts to fisheries authorities that this huge mammal needed human intervention, as soon as possible, led to its rescue from a slow and agonizing death by starvation. This is the story behind a ten-metre-long humpback whale in British Columbia's Strait of Georgia.

It took a lot of patience, observation and a rescue plan, along with the help of a team of experts, a drone, a satellite tag, and above all concerned ciizens as well as the whale's acrobatic twist to release it from an unhappy fate. The immense whale was accompanied by a group of companion whales that were swimming by its side the entire period of its travail and rescue.

 

A humpback whale entangled in fishing gear off B.C.'s West Coast was rescued with the help of a team of experts and an acrobatic twist from the captive itself

 

Calls began arriving at Fisheries and Oceans Canada last Thursday, revolving about the plight of a whale caught in fishing line, and pulling along a yellow buoy. A full day was spent by would-be rescuers trying to locate the whale. It took another day before a whale-watching crew happened to spot and track the animal off the Gulf Island of Texada. Officials were finally able to place a satellite tag on the trailing gear. "So that was huge. Then we could relax a little bit because we would be able to find the animal by the satellite tag", explained Mr. Cottrell.

Tag guiding them, the rescue team was enabled to make a convergence on the animal and with the use of a drone have a closer look at precisely the manner of its 'capture' by the trailing rope. At that juncture they understood there was roughly 90 metres of polysteel rope and with it the buoy and prawn fishing gear. The abrasive rope had caught in the whale's mouth and had begun wearing away its flesh.  The three other humpback whales swimming alongside the trapped animal, added another dimention of caution to the attempted rescue plan.

 

In the commotion that ensued during the rescue attempt two of the whales remained steadfastly beside the trapped animal and the rescue boats. Such encounters by rescuers with companion animals, particularly of this size are rare. Mr. Cottrell explained that in over fifty rescues, this was the first such event he had been involved in, working around a group this large. But the rescue team thought of their plan and the team began cutting the line away from one side of the whale's mouth with the thought of attempting to slide out the remaining rope from the opposite side.

Drone monitoring the operation from above, as the whales followed so the drivers of the boats could react should any behavioural change occur, the team spent four hours painstakingly clearing half the entanglement before putting a cautious amount of tension on the opposite side. And then the whale went into action with an impressive acrobatic, twisting motion to free itself from the rope. Then, with the help of the drone the liberators watched the whale and its companions swim off together.

An entangled humpback whale was surrounded by other whales as rescuers worked to save it on Oct. 21, 2022. (Department of Fisheries and Oceans & McGill Drone Imaging Department)