Whale Rescue

A young grey whale which had become entangled in fishing gear off Vancouver Island was finally released after a two day battle by scientists and Federal fisheries. The 28ft whale-weighing 15 tonnes was fitted with a satellite tag once a partial tangle of gill-netting, lines and floats were removed. Days later, they were able to trace the whale using the satellite and cut away the remnants of fishing gear.

Whales becoming entangled in discarded fishing gear is not uncommon. In June, a humpback whale had to be rescued off the coast of Nanaimo. It took eight hours to free the whale which was anchored to the ocean floor. They removed 150 metres of line, floats and anchors. If they had not acted so efficiently, the whale would have become exhausted and drowned.