Marine animal rescuers operating on Vancouver Island have reported a heightened frequency of whale entanglements during this summer season. Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal coordinator at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, stated that his team has been actively addressing an average of one to two entanglements per week over the past two months, a rate consistent with that of the previous year. Additionally, they have conducted several necropsies.
In the most recent incident, which occurred last week, the team responded to a distress call involving a humpback whale calf and its mother near the southern coast of Vancouver Island. The calf was discovered entangled in over 100 meters of rope, which it had been dragging since July 5 when it was last seen on British Columbia’s central coast. The team successfully freed the calf after a seven-hour rescue operation, collaborating with counterparts from the United States.
Prior to this rescue, the team had intervened in two separate entanglements within a span of two days. One involved disentangling a whale named Wiggins for the second time in a year near French Creek on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, followed by another operation in the central Island and the Alberni Inlet. Cottrell expressed concern over the increasing frequency of such incidents, noting a lack of decline in entanglement rates.
Jackie Hildering, a researcher and educator at the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), highlighted the positive impact of conservation efforts on humpback whale populations, which have rebounded from near-extinction levels. However, she raised alarm over the persistent entanglement threats faced by these whales, citing that half of the whales she has studied showed signs of previous entanglements. Hildering emphasized the importance of prevention and education as key strategies to mitigate entanglement risks, advocating for increased awareness and participation in whale-safe boating courses offered by MERS with government endorsement.
Overall, despite successful rescue operations, experts like Hildering stress the need for proactive measures to safeguard humpback whales from entanglement dangers and prevent potential long-term consequences on their survival.
Image Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada