It was a race against time – but as the sun set, the entangled humpback whale disappeared without a trace as it made its way up the coastline.
Boat captain Taylor Thorne from Newport Coastal Adventure first spotted the entangled humpback whale Saturday as it swam near the Newport Beach pier and immediately contacted the Marine Animal Entanglement Response Network.
Two boats from the charter company took shifts to track the whale for four hours as it passed through Huntington Beach and reached Long Beach’s shoreline when a rescue team arrived.
Mark Girardeau, a photographer who was aboard Newport Coastal Adventure, documented the whale as it passed through Orange County.
“Unfortunately this humpback was too erratic, which put rescue crews and the whale in danger,” he wrote on social media.
A green fishing line went from the whale’s head and mouth to the base of its left flipper, along its side and over its fluke, a small orange and yellow float trailed behind it.
Mark Girardeau, a photographer who was aboard Newport Coastal Adventure, documented the whale as it passed through Orange County.
“Unfortunately this humpback was too erratic, which put rescue crews and the whale in danger,” he wrote on social media. “Hopefully this whale will be found again as it headed up the coast.”
It was last seen about 6:30 p.m. a few miles south of Pt. Fermin, said Justin Viezbicke, California Stranding Network Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries.
There was no word of the whale on Sunday morning, he said. A boater who might encounter the whale should try to stay with it and contact NOAA’s rescue team – but should not try to help the distressed creature.
“Report it to us and we’ll see what we can do. It’s about safety and that’s why we have the teams to do this,” Viezbicke said.
Lawler said the whale seemed distressed, staying under water for about 15 minutes – about double the normal breath hold.
“The big thing they stress is that those whales are hard to find, they are entangled, they are usually holding their breath for a longer amount of time,” said Ryan Lawler, owner of Newport Coastal Adventure and captain of the second boat that stayed with the whale.
It’s not the first entangled whale encountered off of Orange County this year. A blue whale was entangled in fishing gear and traps in June off Dana Point Headlands. Efforts for rescuers to cut the line were unsuccessful before they lost track of whale.
The number of entanglements has increased in recent years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In 2015, a total of 61 whales were reported entangled off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California – the highest number since NOAA started keeping records in 1982.
Since the first half of 2016, there have been about 40 whales reported entangled off California’s coastline alone, putting this year on track for another record-breaking year.
On average, about 10 large whales were reported entangled along the West Coast each year between 2000 and 2012.
Humpback whales are the most commonly entangled whale species on the West Coast, according to NOAA.
Fishing gear and debris can constrict and cut into a whale’s skin and muscle causing injury and potential infection. Gear and debris can also bind whales to fishing floats and buoys, making it harder for them to dive below the surface. If left unnoticed or unreported, the whale can suffer a long, agonizing death, the NOAA website says.
Lawler said they were able to get images close enough to get a number on the buoy, which can track which fishery the crab trap came from.
“We need to do a better job of getting those traps set where whales don’t swim,” he said. “There needs to be a study undertaken. The fishermen aren’t liable when a whale swims into the trap, that’s OK with me as long as there’s science and studies done to minimize where the traps are set.”
An entanglement isn’t always a death sentence. A humpback that was entangled off Orange County’s coast last October was spotted about two weeks ago and appeared to be doing well, according to Girardeau.
NOAA has recently started an outreach effort to help educate the public and let fishermen know how to report an entangled whale.
If an entangled whale is spotted, contact the NOAA entangled whale hotline at 1-877-SOS-WHALE or hail the USCG on CH 16.
Contact the writer: lconnelly@scng.com
