Eureka, CA - A gray whale entangled in fishing gear was left with deep lacerations on its tail Tuesday evening, but scientists are hopeful it will survive now that it's been released from the lines.
Members of a disentanglement team - trained scientists from Humboldt State University and the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center - began removing the lines around 6 p.m., according to Humboldt State University marine biology professor Dawn Goley, a member of the team. The rescue effort took about an hour and a half.
Goley said the rope from the gear was deeply embedded in the juvenile whale's tail.
"It was seriously injured so we're hoping for the best, but at least now it has the chance to recover that it wouldn't have had if we weren't able to get the gear off," she said.
The team, which was trained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard Humboldt Bay, the California Department of Fish and Game and NOAA.
Mariners began reporting sightings of the mammal around the entrance of the bay Tuesday morning, prompting Goley, as part of the HSU Marine Mammal Stranding network, to alert the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard began broadcasting messages to mariners, advising them to be careful while navigating through the area.
Depending on how long the whale was entangled and how far embedded the line was, the skin tissue on the tail could die and not come back, or the cut could be subject to infection, according to Monica DeAngelis, a NOAA marine mammal biologist who was in contact with Goley. She said it was a good sign that the whale was able to swim out of the bay.
"The lacerations from the rope are fairly deep," she said. "We were just concerned that it might be one of those injuries it might not be able to bounce back from."
Goley said the longer the tail was wrapped in rope, the longer it was without circulation, which could make the whale more vulnerable. "It's important to understand that even if whales get disentangled, that's not the end of the story," she said.
DeAngelis said scientists suspect the whale may be the same one that was spotted off Fort Bragg, also entangled in lines attached to buoys of the same color. She said the size of the whale was also similar. They are working on gathering more photographs of that whale to see if the markings on the whale spotted in Humboldt Bay match. Goley said the whale had very distinct markings on its dorsal surface.
The team also recovered the gear and hopes to use it to track where the whale came from.
DeAngelis said whale rescues can be dangerous to the rescuers as well as the whale, which highlights the positive outcome of Tuesday's event. Goley agreed.
"It takes people with training to do the rescue in the safest possible way," she said. "People can be injured and whales can be injured if not done with the correct equipment and personnel."
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