A beloved Canadian fisherman who dedicated his life to freeing whales was killed by one Monday, friends said.
Joe Howlett, of Campobello Island, was fatally struck by a North Atlantic right whale after he cut it loose from heavy rope while on a Fisheries Department boat off the coast of New Brunswick, the Canadian Press reported.
“This is something he loved and there’s no better feeling than getting a whale untangled,” friend Mackie Green said. “I know how good he was feeling after cutting that whale clear.”
Howlett, a member of the Campobello Whale Rescue, helped free at least two dozen whales throughout his career, friends told the Canadian Press.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada released a statement mourning Howlett’s death.
“The department is deeply saddened by this incident and sends its thoughts and condolences to the individual’s family,” spokeswoman Krista Petersen told CBC.
Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc also expressed his condolences to the Howlett family.
“We have lost an irreplaceable member of the whale rescue community,” LeBlanc said in a statement.
The minister added that rescue missions can be dangerous at times and that Howlett had rescued another North Atlantic right whale a week before his death.
A North Atlantic right whale is an endangered species that can live up to at least 70 years and weigh up to 158,000 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Jerry Conway of the Canadian Whale Institute has known Howlett since 2002 and said his friend’s death was a loss for the community.
“He’s going to be sorely missed by the community, and he was an integral part of a very unique group of fishermen here on the island who were involved in doing the disentanglements,” Conway told The Canadian Press.
