Marine mammal rescue teams on Vancouver Island are reporting a busy summer dealing with whale entanglements. According to Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal coordinator with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, his team has responded to an average of one to two entanglements per week over the past two months. This rate is consistent with last year’s numbers, and they have also conducted several necropsies during this period.
In a recent incident, the team was called to assist a humpback whale calf and its mother near the south coast of Vancouver Island. The calf was entangled in over 100 meters of rope, which it had been dragging since July 5 after disappearing from B.C.’s central coast. The rescue operation to free the calf took seven hours, with collaboration from U.S. counterparts.
Cottrell highlighted the importance of saving every animal, emphasizing the satisfaction his team felt in successfully helping the calf. Prior to this, the team had responded to two other entanglement cases within a short span, showcasing the increasing frequency of such incidents without a decline in entanglement rates.
Despite the positive comeback of humpback whales due to conservation efforts, Jackie Hildering from the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) expressed concerns about the growing entanglement issues. She stressed the significance of prevention and education in addressing the entanglement crisis, advocating for awareness and safe boating practices to reduce the risks faced by humpback whales in Canadian waters.