Young humpback whale freed off Chatham

CHATHAM — A marine rescue team freed a young humpback whale that was entangled in rope Friday.

Recreational boaters first discovered the whale in distress, reported the sighting and stood by the leviathan until officials arrived, according to a Center for Coastal Studies statement.

At the time, the Provincetown-based organization's marine animal entanglement response team was in Stellwagen Bank searching for another entangled humpback whale named Echo, according to the statement. Whale watchers had previously alerted officials to Echo's problem.

The team rerouted to Chatham to aid the "relatively small" young humpback entangled in fishing gear, with line through its mouth, according to the statement. The whale was able to lift some of the gear and make it to the ocean surface to breathe.

The center's team used a 30-foot pole and a hook-shaped knife to cut into a portion of the rope at the whale's mouth. After about 20 minutes, the whale was able to pull off the remaining gear it was entangled in and swam away, according to the statement. The whale also swam quickly, which is generally considered a good sign after an entanglement.

Photos were taken and the center's humpback whale studies team will attempt to identify it for a follow up, according to the statement. They had not been able to locate Echo as of Sunday morning.

Boaters are urged to report any entanglement sightings of whales, sea turtles and other marine animals to the Marine Animal Entanglement Response Hotline, 1-800-900-3622, or the Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16. Mariners should stand by the animal at a safe distance until trained responders arrive.