Marine mammal rescuers operating on Vancouver Island have reported a surge in whale entanglements this summer. Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal coordinator at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, disclosed that his team has been responding to an average of one to two entanglements weekly for the past two months. This figure aligns with the previous year’s statistics and has also involved conducting several necropsies.
The most recent incident occurred last week, marking the third activation of Cottrell’s team in less than two weeks. They were summoned to assist a humpback whale calf, along with its mother, discovered entwined in over 100 meters of rope near the south coast of Vancouver Island. Investigation revealed that the calf had been dragging the rope since July 5, when it was reported missing from British Columbia’s central coast.
The grueling task of freeing the calf took the team seven hours, collaborating with counterparts from the United States. Cottrell expressed the team’s elation at successfully saving the calf, emphasizing the significance of each animal’s rescue.
Prior to this incident, the team had to disentangle a whale named Wiggins for the second time in a year near French Creek on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, followed by another call to the central Island and the Alberni Inlet within a day and a half. Cottrell lamented the increasing frequency of such entanglements, with no apparent decline in rates.
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 faced near-extinction due to historical hunting. However, she expressed concerns about the current situation, noting that despite successful disentanglements making headlines, they do not address the root issue.
According to Hildering, prevention and education are crucial in tackling the entanglement problem effectively. She underscored the need for informing people about preventing humpback entanglements and fatalities, advocating for participation in a whale-safe boating course developed by MERS with government endorsement.