Out in the ocean, a sadder whale story unfolds

By adamg on Sun, 08/25/2024 - 11:51am

Hope Cole reports that on a whale-watch cruise to Stellwagen Bank, people spotted a humpback whale in distress - rope from some fishing gear wrapped around its tail.

She reports her boat stayed with the whale until another boat could arrive and stay with it to await a disentanglement crew from the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown.

A marine biologist who was on the boat adds:

On today's trip, we encountered a humpback whale that was splashing up a storm! Unfortunately, upon approaching this whale, we noticed the surface activity was more evident of a distressed whale. We documented some fishing line wrapped over the trunk of the whale. As it lobtailed, flipper slapped, and rolled at the surface, the whale became further entangled with the line wrapping around the pectoral flippers, tailstock, and fluke.

She added:

Over 50% of the whales on Stellwagen Bank have scarring consistent with entanglement, and approximately 12% of the Gulf of Maine population gets entangled every year. Entanglement can lead to distress, injuries, and, in severe cases, fatalities in whales of all sizes.

Free tagging:

Wildlife

Stellwagen Bank

Whales

Ad:

Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

Stupid ignorant careless

By anon on Sun, 08/25/2024 - 12:39pm.

Stupid ignorant careless humans. I hope the humans who are the opposite rescue this beautiful whale and then thank their professors and mentors who graced them with their education in this field.

Ghost nets

By TheBostonCrab on Sun, 08/25/2024 - 1:44pm.

Ghost fishing gear is a huge problem:

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear(ALDFG) has been described as the most harmful form of marine plastic debris. Historic estimates have suggested that ALDFG makes up 10% of marine litter in the world’s ocean, but recent surveys put this figure much higher, with fishing gear representing 20% of litter found on beaches in the North-East Atlantic

A single abandoned net is estimated to kill on average 500,000 marine invertebrates, 1,700 fish, and 4 seabirds.

https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/UNEA5.2_GGGI.pdf

Which means eating fish is a huge problem

By Tim Mc. on Tue, 08/27/2024 - 9:22am.

because it is basically impossible to police fishing boats and what they do out there.

Enzo is the name of the humpback

By lobster nanny on Sun, 08/25/2024 - 3:27pm.

From the photos, Enzo appears to be a juvenile fella. I hope that the rescue team is able to intervene, but if he's thrashing, they may have to hold off until he's quieter and staying at the surface.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation US is a locally based organization which coordinates the efforts of many whale and cetacean researchers and rescuers. It also covers more MA coastal area to facilitate timely rescues.