SeaWorld frees humpback whale entangled in fishing gear

SeaWorld’s Rescue Team successfully disentangled a 35-foot humpback whale being weighed down by six pots and approximately 900 feet of rope on Friday 22 November.

Lacking the ability to swim freely and forage for food, the whale would have died if it was not disentangled. Once the fishing gear was removed, the whale was observed swimming in a northwesterly direction.

The whale was first spotted late on Thursday by a local birdwatcher. The SeaWorld Rescue Team was able to get on the water to assess the situation early on Friday morning and then cut the whale free.

The four-hour disentanglement effort took place approximately one mile from the Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California starting at about 9:30am, with the whale swimming free at 1:30pm.

SeaWorld would like to thank local lifeguards, Gary Nunn (the bird watcher who first spotted and reported the whale), and the crew of the fishing vessel McGhee Marie who helped SeaWorld retrieve the gear from the ocean.

SeaWorld’s Rescue Team has specific large-whale entanglement response training and works under the authority of National Marine Fisheries Service, the US government agency that oversees the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the following permit: NOAA MMHSRP 18786-04.

SeaWorld San Diego is part of the larger network that is directly involved with NOAA Fisheries and California Department of Fish & Wildlife. It is hoped that information gained from this incident will assist in helping to prevent large-whale entanglements in the future.

SeaWorld recently reached an impressive milestone of 36,000 rescues over the last 55 years, which includes sea lions, seals, dolphins, whales, turtles and birds. The goal with every animal is to rescue, rehabilitate and return it to the wild, for a second chance at life.