Entangled whale partially freed off California coast

On Saturday it was spotted off San Diego, where a SeaWorld crew and area lifeguards worked with the NOAA to try to cut it free.

He cautioned that despite the attention the rescue was receiving, the chances of completely freeing the massive animal were slim because of its size and the nature of the entanglement.

“We helped the whale significantly”, he said. But The Center for Biological Diversity, EarthJustice, and Oceana say more needs to be done, and they recently asked the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider other measures such as breakaway lines, fishery closures in whale feeding areas, and restrictions on the number of vertical fishing lines in the water. They then used boats to reach the whale, which was estimated to be between 40 and 50 feet long. “It’s not emaciated yet”.

Everyone is celebrating that the outcome was good for this whale – but it’s just one part of a potentially bigger problem. On Friday, ABC-7 reported that the 35-foot-long whale was swimming close to the whale watching boat Western Pride, which was carrying almost 90 passengers, who at first thought it was just a whale doing whale things. “He just looked exhausted”.

The whale rescue team from NOAA has responded to around 50 entangled whales since January – a sharp rise that could have been caused by warmer waters which enticed the enormous creatures nearer to shore, where they come across fishing gear, Viezbicke stated. Justin said that the point to be noted is that how the whales are getting entangled in the lines.

In this case, the rescue team was able to cut away a few buoys that contained identifying information that will allow scientists to figure out where the whale became entangled.

‘Our response network is really just a Band-Aid, ‘ Viezbicke said.

‘We’re looking for ways to be proactive and minimize these situations in the future’.