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Theresa M. Barbo
(508) 487-3622 x103
(774) 353-8034
ccsmedia@coastalstudies.org

PCCS Whale Rescue Team Frees Entangled Humpback off Newburyport on Sunday

The PCCS team, aboard its rapid response vessel, Ibis II, found that the whale was first entangled by a single line through the mouth that then came together in a bridle and twisted tightly together along the whale's right flank. From there the twisted line wrapped over the flukes before descending down to heavily-weighted gear that dragged the mammal's tail beneath the surface, endangering its life.

The team grappled the twisted line towing beneath the whale but was unable to raise the heavy gear by hand, which would have relieved pressure on the animal. Minutes before sunset, at dusk, the team cut the lines forward of the tail, leaving the whale with only a single line through its mouth. A marker was left on the heavy gear for later retrieval.

PCCS thanks the following vessels and organizations for their assistance: Coast Guard Station Boston; the whale watch vessels, Prince of Whales, Granite State, and the Atlantic Queen II; Edward Lyman of Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries; and Sea Tow Boston.

The Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, founded in 1976, is dedicated to preserving the marine coastal environmental and protecting marine mammals through public education, scientific research and conservation programs.

Please click here for more information on the latest disentanglement.

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