Fader was freed from over 400 feet of fishing gear. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
For the last 20 years or so, a humpback whale has been coming back to the waters off the coast of British Columbia. Named Fader, it has been a regular sight for researchers and whale watchers alike. But this year, the whale ran into a problem: fishing gear, and lots of it. After becoming hopelessly entangled in nearly 500 feet of it, rescue crews spent six hours cutting it free.
According to reports, Fader was first sighted by Vancouver Island Whale Watch on Sunday in the Strait of Georgia off Vancouver Island. Cheyenne Brewster, a spokesperson for the company, told reporters that they spotted Fader and a companion known as Wiggins while they were on a regular whale watching trip. As the people aboard began to take photos, they saw that Fader was dragging an orange float along behind it — and a pile of rope, too.
The crew called officials immediately and were asked to keep an eye on the animal until Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) officers could arrive on scene. When DFO workers got there, they attached a tracking tag to the fishing gear the whale was tangled in. Then, they watched it until they were able to attempt disentangling the huge animal.
“It was a huge effort by DFO marine mammal rescue, DFO Victoria Whale Protection Unit and Department of National Defense,” the DFO said in a statement.
All in all, around 426 feet of line and nets were removed over a six-hour period.
“There was a lot of line to work with, lots of stuff to cut off the whale and get rid of,” Brewster said, “so definitely a very time-consuming activity.”
Whale entanglements are dangerous to whales, and not just because it keeps them from moving through the water the way they should. The ropes and lines can lead to gaping wounds, and in a population of whales that once was almost extinct in the area, those things matter. Thankfully, the population has rebounded in recent years.
“That has been kind of a double-edged sword,” Brewster said. “We’ve seen the population go back up, which is absolutely great, but unfortunately, it has led to a lot more entanglements.”
