Humpback rescued off Race Point today

Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies Disentangles Humpback Whale

A disentanglement team from the Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network [ALWDN] led by the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) today disentangled lines from the head of a humpback whale about 8 miles off Race Point near the mouth of Cape Cod Bay around 2:30 P.M. EST.

A rescue team from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies is working to free a humpback whale off the Massachusetts coast near the mouth of Cape Cod Bay. The whale was caught up in lines and a lobster trap.

"It was an unusual entanglement, originating from the mouth, with a tight wrap on the lower chin," says David Morin, operations manager for the PCCS Whale Disentanglement Team who worked on the humpback whale today.  "It had a wrap coming from the mouth, going across the breast, and back up into the mouth," Morin added. 

"We added a sufficient amount of drag so that the animal could break free of the gear," Morin explained. No lines were cut.  He added that "the drag - a drogue, buoy and inflatables - were added at a strategic point" to ensure the humpback stood a good chance of breaking free of the lines.

Fisherman spotted whale this morning

A recreational fisherman spotted the entangled humpback at 7:12 A.M. this morning and reported it to the ALWDN hotline at 1.800.900.3622.

The Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies is the only organization licensed by the federal government [NOAA Fisheries Service] to disentangle large whales from marine debris and fishing gear.  Entanglement in fishing gear is a leading cause of cetacean injury and death.

"There are about 12,000 humpback whales in the North Atlantic, with about 900 humpback whales feeding off the northeast coast of the United States in the Gulf of Maine," explained Theresa Mitchell Barbo, director of communications for the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.  "Humpbacks are an endangered species," she added.