PCCS disentangled a humpback whale today (8/23/07) on Grand Manan Bank,
Canada. The humpback whale research team, in collaboration with the Hawaiian
Islands Humpback Whale Sanctuary, removed hundreds of feet of rope and buoys
from the whale.
Team adding buoys to
entanglement - PCCS image
whale was found during the annual Gulf of Maine humpback
whale research cruise, aboard the R/V Shearwater.
The crew was surveying humpback whale feeding areas
between Nova Scotia and the coast of Maine when they
noticed a whale towing a series of buoys. On closer
inspection the whale had two lengths of rope exiting
both sides of the mouth and trailing over 200-feet
behind the flukes.
While the entanglement was not
immediately life-threatening, there was a high
likelihood that the rope would have fouled the flippers
or the flukes over time. To reduce this possibility, the
team decided to mount a disentanglement response.
Deploying a small inflatable boat, the team approached
the gear behind the whale and added a series of buoys.
They then cut the rope on one side of the animal. After
a series of dives, buoyancy from the buoys created
enough force to remove the rope from the mouthline of
the whale. All of the rope and buoys were then recovered
and will be used in ongoing studies aimed at preventing
entanglement. The whale left the area quickly but
documentation from the event will inform ongoing
humpback whale research efforts into the impacts of
Many thanks to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale
Sanctuary for their generous support and to our
dedicated and patient interns.
Team inspects gear. Over 600-feet of
rope was removed from the whale- PCCS image