Marine mammal rescuers operating on Vancouver Island are reporting a surge in whale entanglements this summer. Paul Cottrell, overseeing marine mammals at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, stated that his team has been attending to an average of one to two entanglements per week over the past two months, which aligns with figures from the previous year. They have also conducted several necropsies alongside these responses.
In the most recent incident last week, his team was called into action for the third time in under two weeks. This time, a humpback whale calf and its mother were spotted near the southern coast of Vancouver Island entangled in over 100 meters of rope. Cottrell revealed that they traced the gear and confirmed that the calf had been dragging the rope since July 5, following its disappearance from British Columbia’s central coast.
The team dedicated seven hours to freeing the calf, collaborating with U.S. counterparts in the process. Cottrell expressed the significance of saving each animal and the satisfaction his team felt in aiding the calf’s rescue. Prior to this, they had dealt with two entanglement cases in two consecutive days. They spent a significant amount of time disentangling a whale named Wiggins for the second time within a year near French Creek on Vancouver Island’s eastern coast before rushing to the central Island and the Alberni Inlet for another entanglement call.
Cottrell emphasized the increasing frequency of such incidents, noting that entanglement rates show no signs of declining. He highlighted the rise of humpbacks in British Columbia’s inshore waters as a positive development but raised concerns about the concurrent increase in entanglements with inshore fishing gear.
Regarding the conservation efforts, Jackie Hildering from the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) acknowledged the positive impact leading to a “second chance” for humpback whales, which had faced near extinction due to hunting. However, she expressed worries about the missed opportunities in utilizing this chance effectively. Hildering’s research revealed that 50% of whales she has documented exhibited signs of previous entanglements, hinting that the actual numbers might be higher.
She stressed the gravity of the entanglement issue, advocating for prevention and education as more effective approaches than reactive disentanglements. Hildering 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 for those navigating the waters.
