Summary of the 2005 Season

In 2005, the Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network (ALDWN) received 97 reports of entangled marine animals from the Gulf of Maine to Florida. These reports included live and dead whales, seals, sea turtles and sharks. ALDWN members confirmed that 22 of these reports involved live entangled baleen whales: 11 right whales and 11 humpback whales, including four right whales reported in previous years that continued to survive their with their entanglements. Network members mounted 44 at-sea and aerial operations to document and assess these entanglement cases or to attempt disentanglement. Ultimately, Network members removed gear from one right whale and five humpbacks.

Two operations in particular, a humpback whale in Canada and a right whale of the US southeast coast, highlighted the value of continued outreach, training, and readiness among all Network partners including commercial fishermen, emergency response agencies such as the US and Canadian Coast Guard, and the trained volunteer responders who work in strategic locations along the Atlantic coastline. They also exemplify the results of continued research and development efforts, especially in communications, logistics and satellite telemetry.

Young humpback whale disentangled in 2005 - note rope across body leading to flukes. Many whale watch boats stood by this animal until the disentanglement team arrived (see story here). Image courtesy Pamela Houston

New Briefs
Network development remained a high priority in 2005 with dozens of volunteer training programs conducted at key sites along the coast of the US and Canada, including advanced training in Provincetown for several of the Network’s primary responders.

Mackie Greene of the Campobello Whale Rescue Team in New Brunswick joined the PCCS staff for seasonal support in the disentanglement program. Greene was an integral member of the team during the disentanglement attempts of the right whale in December.

First responders, trained and equipped in 2004, from Mingan Islands Cetacean Studies, on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, successfully disentangled a humpback whale anchored in heavy gear.

After two years of collaborative research and development with Telonics, Inc., a new Argos-linked GPS tag, specifically designed for use with the Network’s disentanglement tracking buoy system, is nearing completion. This new system will dramatically increase the volume and accuracy of telemetry data received from tagged, entangled whales, improving planning and response for disentanglement and the overall quality of scientific information collected. Seventeen of these new systems are scheduled for deployment to first response teams along the Atlantic coast, Alaska, and the UK in 2006.

The ALWDN’s spirit of information accessibility, transparency and collaborative research continues to assist an expanding network of emerging disentanglement programs in North America and around the world. In 2005, new and ongoing programs in Alaska, British Columbia, Australia, South Africa, and the UK benefited from Network training, technology, and real-time access to the Network’s information archives and experts.

Our continuing mission
We don’t just rescue whales. Along with providing emergency response to individual whales with life threatening entanglements, the Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network continues to play a vital role in efforts to monitor and document large whale bycatch, leading to preventative solutions. Our work has never been more important. Our efforts continue to strengthen our mission to conserve populations of cetaceans off the Eastern Seaboard.

We gratefully thank all network members for their outstanding work in 2005, and NOAA Fisheries for their continued support.

To read more about disentanglement efforts in 2005, choose links from the "Previous Disentanglement" page.