Humpback whale rescued off British Columbia after four-day effort

An 36-foot humpback whale was freed from more than 50 ropes and fishing gear in a four-day rescue off Canada's west coast. Experts say such entanglements are on the rise, with at least 67 off the coast of the United States in 2022

Off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, in a four-day exhausting process, a humpback whale has been freed. This amazing rescue was accomplished by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Marine Mammal Rescue team, which managed to free the whale from over 50 ropes,
fishing gear and with various floats attached.

I have never seen anything like this,” Paul Cottrell, Marine Mammal Coordinator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said. “The animal couldn’t open its mouth and its body was twisted around itself.”

The intervention took place between September 2nd and 6th.

Whale entanglements on the rise

According to the latest numbers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the number of large whale entanglements off the U.S. West Coast continues to rise. In 2007, nine entanglements were recorded along the West Coast, rising to 46 in 2015. The numbers decreased in 2020 but climbed again to 20 in 2021 and 26 in 2022.

In 2022, there were 67 large whale entanglements reported off all U.S. coasts.