Department of Fisheries untangles gear from humpback whale off B.C.'s coast

Crews free entangled humpback whale Paul Cottrell of Fisheries and Oceans Canada describes efforts to free a humpback whale off Vancouver Island.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada says it has successfully untangled fishing gear on a humpback whale off British Columbia's coast that was first spotted by a ferry passenger.

Paul Cottrell, the department's marine mammal co-ordinator, says a rescue team found the whale off Texada Island after the ferry passenger called it in on Thursday, and managed to free the animal from "recreational prawn gear" that was stuck in its mouth.

Cottrell says the whale named Smoke was trailing more than 50 metres of line and gear, while still travelling quickly despite the entanglement, and it took them several hours to locate and free the animal.

He says a team from the conservationist group Straitwatch was in the area when the report came in and attached a satellite tag and buoy to the gear being trailed by the whale, which helped them find the animal and begin rescue efforts.

Cottrell says the whale was agitated and uncomfortable during the operation, and was still very "mobile" before tiring out as it moved northward in the Strait of Georgia by the evening.

He says there's been more such entanglement in the last few years because the number of humpbacks in B.C. waters has increased.

"We've already been on the water multiple times this year with entangled animals," Cottrell said. "The big thing is locating them and that's where, again, the eyes and ears of the public are huge for us."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2024.