Marine mammal rescuers operating on Vancouver Island have reported a surge in incidences of whale entanglements this summer. Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal co-ordinator at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, revealed that his team has been dealing with an average of one to two entanglements per week over the past two months, consistent with last year’s figures. They have also conducted several necropsies during this period.
The most recent entanglement call occurred last week when a humpback whale calf, along with its mother, was discovered entangled in over 100 meters of rope near the south coast of Vancouver Island. Tracking the gear, Cottrell’s team determined that the calf had been dragging the rope since July 5 when it went missing from B.C.’s central coast.
In a collaborative effort with U.S. counterparts, the team spent seven hours freeing the entangled calf, a significant rescue operation. Cottrell expressed the team’s satisfaction in saving the calf, emphasizing the importance of each animal’s well-being.
Prior to this incident, the team had responded to two entanglement calls within two days. They worked tirelessly to disentangle a whale named Wiggins for the second time in a year near French Creek on Vancouver Island’s eastern coast before rushing to the central Island and the Alberni Inlet for another entanglement case. Cottrell noted the increasing frequency of such incidents, with entanglement rates showing no signs of decline.
Jackie Hildering, a researcher and educator at the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), highlighted the positive impact of conservation efforts on humpback whales, leading to a “second chance” for the species that had faced extinction due to hunting. However, she expressed concerns about the current situation, stating that a significant number of whales she has observed show signs of past entanglements, suggesting a larger problem than commonly perceived.
Hildering stressed the importance of prevention and education as more effective measures than reactive disentanglement efforts. She emphasized the need for public awareness on how to prevent humpback entanglements and fatalities, recommending participation in MERS’ whale safe boating course endorsed by the federal government to promote responsible boating practices around marine wildlife.