Entangled Humpback Whale Struggles To Survive In Raritan Bay

SANDY HOOK BAY, NJ — New Jersey State Police, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are all working together this week to save a Raritan Bay humpback whale that appears to be badly entangled in fishing lines, ropes and buoys. The whale was last seen at about 2 p.m. Monday afternoon, about two miles off the coast of Sandy Hook, a NOAA spokeswoman said.

She said the disentanglement plan has now been put off until after the July 4th holiday, due to the high number of expected boaters in Raritan Bay this week.

That's the humpback whale, pictured above, in a photo provided to Patch by the U.S. Coast Guard. The humpback was first spotted by a passerby this past Saturday afternoon, June 30 in Raritan Bay. Unfortunately, the whale has a rope wrapped around and inside its mouth, and there appears to be a red and black buoy attached to the rope.

Because it is entangled in the rope, the whale is only able to take very shallow breaths, and its feeding may be impaired, report witnesses who've seen it.

"The whale is swimming freely and while it is a serious entanglement, the animal is not in immediate danger. We are concerned about its long-term health, which is why we are working on a disentanglement plan," NOAA spokeswoman Jennifer Goebel told Patch. "Due to the large number of recreational boats in the water this holiday week, to ensure the safety of our team, the whale, and the general public, we are going to aim for a disentanglement effort after July 8."

New Jersey State Police, assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard, assembled on Saturday to form a perimeter around the whale, so no boats would go near it.

"Disentangling a whale is dangerous, as the whale is strong and unpredictable," she continued. "Due to the nature of the entanglement, the team needs to get very close to the whale, and needs space to maneuver around and react to the whale’s movements. For everyone’s safety, we feel that scheduling the disentanglement sometime after the holiday week when boat traffic in the area is reduced is the best option."

New York City nature photographer Artie Raslich said he saw the same exact whale last summer, and it was entangled then as well. In fact, Raslich took these incredible photos of the whale on June 22 of this year, where you can clearly see it is entangled in ropes.

Getting entangled in fishing lines is a major cause of death for whales in the North Atlantic. Ropes or lines can cut into a whale’s body, cause serious injuries and result in deadly infections. Gear entanglement can also make it difficult for whales to swim and feed, and reduce the likelihood that they will survive to reproduce. Eighty-five percent of North Atlantic right whales have scars from entanglements.

In the New York/New Jersey region, humpback whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They are no longer considered threatened or endangered, but NOAA is now closely monitoring New Jersey's humpbacks. That's because in recent years there has been a high number of mysterious humpback deaths along the Atlantic Coast, Goebel said.

An increasing number of humpback whales are being found stranded, hit by boats or mysteriously floating dead in East Coast waters. It was alarming enough to prompt NOAA Fisheries to declare an Unusual Mortality Event for these whales in January of 2016.

"We are continuing to to coordinate with the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events to review data, sample stranded whales, and determine the next steps for the investigation," Goebel said.

Humpback whales can be up to 50 feet in length, weigh up to 40 tons, and live 80-90 years. They are generally found close to shore and are commonly surface active, including breaching (jumping out of the water), or slapping the surface with their pectoral fins and tails.

The perimeter on Saturday was partially set up to protect boaters out on the densely trafficked Raritan Bay Saturday afternoon, a Coast Guard representative explained.

"We did that to protect other mariners, since it's a huge boat traffic area," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Annmarie Gorden. "Whales can run people off course and we want to keep people safe out there."

If you are out on Raritan Bay this week, NOAA asks that the public give this whale plenty of space. Please continue to report sightings to U.S. Coast Guard on VHF 16 or the NOAA hotline 1-866-755-6622.

Photo of the whale provided by the U.S. Coast Guard.