Media Release 8.2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Theresa M. Barbo: 774.263.4219
ccsmedia@coastalstudies.org

PCCS Disentangles Humpback Whale East of Plymouth, MA

(Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA) - A juvenile humpback whale whose head was wrapped in fishing line was freed Wednesday afternoon by the whale disentanglement team from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) a few miles east of Plymouth.

"The whale had a set of lobster gear (rope, buoys and a lobster trap) anchored within its mouth, making normal behavior difficult," explained Scott Landry, a member of the Whale Disentanglement Program. "After a complicated disentanglement operation, the whale was free of its entanglement by early afternoon," Landry added.

"It was an unusual entanglement…with a tight wrap on the lower chin," said David Morin, another team member. [Stormy Mayo and Amy Kennedy were also part of the disentanglement team.] Rope extended from either side of the whales mouth: on the left side the rope ran to a series of marker buoys trailing approximately 80-feet behind the flukes; on the right side the rope ran to a lobster trap just behind the right flipper, and very close to the flank. Inside the mouth, the rope was woven between plates of baleen (humpbacks have baleen, not teeth, hanging from either side of the upper jaw to filter food from seawater).

After assessing the entanglement, the team decided to attempt disentanglement, especially considering the amount of gear on the whale and the potential for future complications (rope wrapping other body parts or snagging more gear).

Using a small inflatable boat deployed from the R/V Ibis, the team approached the whale and replaced the marker buoys with larger buoys for extra flotation in an effort to slow the whale. While the whale did slow a bit, it began pumping its flukes at the surface, making close approaches too difficult. After re-assessing, the entanglement the team decided to remove the lobster trap first and attempt to pull the remaining rope from the mouth. Using a grappling hook attached to a long length of line, the team added large buoys and a sea anchor to the rope attached to the trap. With this heavy drag and the surge of the whale, this line parted, removing the trap. The team then added the flotation and drag to the remaining line exiting the left side of the mouth. The whale reacted actively to this flotation and used the extra drag to its advantage. Opening and closing its mouth, and thrashing at the surface, all of the remaining entangling rope came free of the whale. Once free, the whale swam off quickly.

The successful disentanglement of this whale would not have been possible without the dedication of Donald Clancy aboard St. Andrew, for standing by this animal.

The gear recovered from this whale will be used in ongoing studies aimed at modifying fishing gear to prevent entanglements. The whale has been identified by the PCCS humpback whale research team as the 2005 calf of Sickle.

The Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network (ALWDN) managed by PCCS, coordinated the disentanglement efforts. The network, which extends from Canada to Florida, is comprised of fishermen, scientists and government agencies. Twenty trained volunteer First Response teams were established in strategic sights along the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. These teams are supported by more than 600 professional mariners and biologists, including more than 400 commercial fishermen who have participated in PCCS-led entanglement response training at dozens of seminars since 1997, from Quebec to Florida. The ALWDN is funded by and operates under a permit issued by NOAA Fisheries Service.

The ALWDN coordinates emergency responses to benefit the welfare of individual whales, and collects scientific information about the causes and effects of entanglement. Disentanglement efforts are not a long-term conservation strategy to save endangered whale populations, nor should they be regarded as such. Most large whale entanglements are an unintended consequence of commercial fishing operations that are regulated by state and federal governments.

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• Though Sunday's rescue had a happy ending, only three percent of all entangled humpback whales are reported to authorities every year;
• After centuries of hunting, North Atlantic humpback whale stocks began to slowly rebound late in the 20th century. Today, about 12,000 humpback whales are estimated in the North Atlantic, with 900 seasonally feeding off the northeast coast of the United States;
• Humpbacks remain listed as an endangered species in the United States;
• Every year, between 48% and 65% of the photo-documented humpbacks in the northeast U.S. coastline exhibit scarring that was indicative of entanglement at some point in their lifetimes.

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Footage gathered by news organizations of this event can be found here: http://cbs4boston.com/video/?id=22839@wbz.dayport.com.

Click here for a list of previous entanglements.

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