On Friday evening, authorities were still trying to untangle the whale, but the humpback – which had traveled south to Laguna Beach – was not making it easy.
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Calif. Rescuers will try again Saturday, October 31, to remove more than 100 feet of fishing line from an entangled humpback whale that has been moving south along the Southern California coast.
“We hope we gave this whale a second chance at life”, said Kelly Terry, a spokeswoman for SeaWorld in San Diego, which sent a rescue team to free the huge mammal.
But it was apparent that it was in distress, and when the whale emerged, buoys, rope, and lobster pots were seen caught on his fins.
A large knot of fishing line was trailing about 10 to 15 feet behind the whale and a single line strung out behind, he added. Rescuers are especially concerned because the rope appears to be stuck in the whale’s mouth, which will make it hard for it to eat, Jim Milbury, a NOAA spokesman, said Saturday. “Its health is still pretty good and robust, but over time if that whale can’t feed that’s going to be very problematic”.
A whale watching vessel reported the entangled whale Friday morning.
The line was also keeping the whale from employing its tail and it was forced to use its flippers to move around. The boat run by Davey’s Locker stayed with the whale until the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol arrived.
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According to the AP, the NOAA has responded to about 50 entangled whales since January; this spike could be due to warmer ocean temperatures that bring them closer to shore, where they’re more likely to encounter fishing gear.
