Responders free entangled humpback whale off WA coast
WESTPORT - While out fishing early Friday morning off the coast of Westport, a sports fisherman spotted something unusual in the water. He ended up shining light on what would become a life-saving team effort.
Sam Azar IV saw buoys attached to a marine animal on the surface of the water. The struggling humpback whale was anchored in place with the buoys by its head, weighted down by fishing gear.
Azar IV then took the intuitive step, contacting the entanglement hotline through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), stayed a safe distance away from the entangled whale and provided updates to responders while he waited for their arrival.
How responders rescued the whale
Cascadia's Entaglement Response Network arrived on scene, with both an inflatable response vessel and a research vessel. According to Cascadia Research Collective, the whale dragged the anchoring gear approximately a mile away from where it was during Azar IV's initial call, despite remaining stationary due to the weight of the equipment.
The responding team assessed the lines were hog-tied around the whale, which essentially means the lines passed through the whale's mouth, were wrapped around its tail and were connected to the heavy gear that dragged across the seafloor.
When lines are entangled like this, it is described as life-threatening, restricting a whale's ability to use its tail to swim, unsustainably relying solely on its pectoral fins.
The response team was able to determine the entanglement through a drone and underwater camera, which helped them deduce the order in which they could cut the lines.
Entangled humpback whale off Westport, Washington, found and reported by sport fishermen, Sam Azar IV. (Cascadia Research Collective, NOAA permit #24359.)
Dig deeper:
The responders' first approach did not go as expected. While the whale held still after they attached a control line to one of the buoys near its head to safely cut the gear, there was no forward movement that would slide free from the whale's mouth.
With an adapted approach, which involved shorting the gear that trailed, followed by removing a buoy and control line, the whale finally made a prolonged dive and resurfaced a distance away.
With drones, the Cascadia Research Collective tracked the whale swimming normally after it was freed. Based on the whale's wounds, the entanglement seemed to have been fairly recent, improving survival chances.
Response team working from a small inflatable to cut lines entangling the whale’s flukes. (Cascadia Research Collective, NOAA permit #24359)
What they're saying:
"The outcome of this response really shows what’s possible when a whale is reported in real time," said Doug Sandilands, responder at Cascadia Research Collective.
Responders using a cutting grapple to make the final cuts while maintaining a safe distance from the whale’s large flippers and fluke. (Cascadia Research Collective, NOAA permit #24359.)
What's next:
Cascadia was able to identify the whale, recognizing her as an adult female that was first documented in 2009. She winters in Hawaii and has been spotted primarily near Westport and the Columbia River.
Before this entanglement, she was last seen in 2023 in the same area with a calf. Her identification number is CRC-19155.
Why you should care:
Cascadia Research Collective included a reminder in their press release, that entanglements remain one of the leading human-caused threats to large whales across our coast. Further, there has been an increase in reports this year.
What you can do:
Because survival rates can increase with prompt reporting, if you see a whale in danger, letting the NOAA know through their entanglement hotline (1-877-SOS-WHALE) and staying at least 100 yards away can make a difference.
The Source: Information in this story came from a Cascadia Research Collective press release.
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