porpoise-princess:

From the Marine Education and Research Society:

Humpback entangled in rope today [9/12/16] near Klemtu (Marine Harvest Sheep Passage fish farm). Was professionally disentangled. Locals will strive to relocate and monitor the whale. It is essential that coastal British Columbians know what to do if an entanglement is witnessed since, with increasing numbers of Humpbacks on BC’s coast, the risk of whale entanglement has become greater. Our preliminary results from research conducted with MERS / DFO suggest that over 47% of Humpbacks in BC have been entangled (>1,000 Humpbacks). This data provides an indication of how serious the risk of entanglement is but does not reveal how many humpbacks die after becoming entangled.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND AN ENTANGLED WHALE. 

– With great urgency, report the entanglement with location to the DFO Incident Line / VHF 16. 1-800-465-4336.
– If at all possible, remain with the whale at a distance until trained help arrives or another boat takes over tracking, otherwise the chances of relocating the whale are greatly diminished.
– Take whatever video/photos are possible but maintain a distance that doesn’t stress the whale.
– Do NOT attempt to remove any fishing gear or rope from the whale as it risks human and whale safety (has led to human death). Professional training and equipment are needed to assess the entanglement and proceed safely with the greatest chance of success. Often, much of the fishing gear in which the whale is entangled is not visible at the surface. If well-intentioned members of the public remove the gear at the surface, it is made much more difficult to: (1) recognize that the whale is entangled; and (2) disentangle the whale even if it is relocated. Trailing gear at the surface provides the opportunity for trained responders to attach a tag to track the whale and/or to attach floatation to maintain contact with and slow down an entangled whale. Loss of this gear can significantly reduce rescuers’ ability to save the whale.

This humpback was lucky that there were people around to help disentangle it. It would have died from starvation had the ropes remained around its mouth like that. But of course, it is also our fault these whales become entangled in the first place. Our fishing line and ropes and nets are are death traps for these animals.