Dramatic rescue frees humpback near Dutch Harbor

NOAA biologist John Moran: The teamwork was amazing

NOAA’s John Moran cuts line entangling a whale. (NOAA photo by Andy Dietricik)

A humpback whale entrapped in line from a large cod pot that went through its mouth and across the blowholes has been freed by a NOAA-led team of marine mammal responders in Unalaska Bay, near Dutch Harbor.

The rescue on the evening of Oct. 20 came five days after the whale was first reported entangled, said John Moran, a Juneau-based NOAA Fisheries humpback whale biologist, with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, who is trained responder under NOAA’s Large Whale Entanglement Response Network.

“This humpback was hogtied — the flukes were pulled under the body, connecting to the head with heavy line — and anchored to a pot at the ocean’s bottom, which basically immobilized it, much like a dog on a leash,” he said.

Moran flew to Dutch Harbor on Oct. 19 to lead the effort to free the whale.

“The response team — which included two vessels and reconnaissance using underwater cameras and an overhead drone — spent 12 hours over two days on the water making numerous attempts at cutting the lines binding the whale,” he said.

NOAA’s John Moran reaches with a pole to cut a line entangling a humpback whale in Dutch Harbor. (NOAA photo by Tim Coffey)

After a few cuts, the flukes were freed from the head, allowing the whale to swim and head into shallower water, making it easier to cut the line attached to the pot, but the whale still had 200 feet of line around the flukes. A cutting grapple and knives were used to work on the remaining gear as the animal swam, NOAA officials said.

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“Suddenly there was a popping sound, and the gear floated to the top,” Moran said. “Apparently a cutting grapple hook had taken about an hour to work through the line and cut it loose. Then we saw the whale swimming freely and knew it was free of entanglement.”

The entrapped whale was reported to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward on Oct. 15. by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers biologist. At that point it was observed in Unalaska Bay off Needle Rock, and reported to be floundering and trailing two buoys, but then the whale moved offshore and out of sight.

Late on Oct. 16, the whale was sighted again in the bay and observers suspected it was anchored. Once NOAA Fisheries confirmed that the whale was immobilized in a life-threatening situation, the agency mobilized to set the whale free. On Oct. 18, a port vessel was dispatched with an FAA certified drone operator in an effort to collect aerial imagery and additional information about the entanglement to inform response efforts.

At the time of its release, the response team reported the whale to be in good condition and very likely to survive its ordeal. It was last sighted heading out to sea.

“Once we got the gear off, it took off, and was swimming freely and breathing normally,” Moran said. “It was a long day, but everyone on the response team was super committed to getting this done. The team work was amazing.”

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