A baby humpback is swimming freely once again after spending roughly four weeks entangled in prawn fishing gear.
A researcher with the Bamfield Marine Centre spotted the calf swimming with its mother near Folger Island in Barkley Sound on Sept. 9 and immediately reported it to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
91裸聊视频淭he marine mammal rescue crew launched and spent six hours working to successfully disentangle the calf,91裸聊视频� DFO spokesperson Lara Sloan told the Westerly News.
Within about five minutes of the report coming in, DFO Marine Mammal Coordinator Paul Cottrell was hopping on a float plane and he arrived at the scene less than two hours later, joining fishery officers to assess the situation, which looked grim.
91裸聊视频淚t basically had four wraps of rope around the head and the whole tail stock and fluke were a mass of ropes91裸聊视频t was just a rat91裸聊视频檚 nest. There was probably 20 wraps around the tail stock and then longitudinal with the fluke,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭he calf was trumpet-blowing and showing signs of distress. It was obviously not comfortable and the ropes were already digging into both the fluke and the dorsal side. It was obviously painful for this poor calf.91裸聊视频�
He added the rescue team had to be extra cautious because the young animal91裸聊视频檚 mother was swimming alongside, sometimes touching her calf, causing concern that she might become entangled as well or become aggressive.
91裸聊视频淵ou really never know how the mom91裸聊视频檚 going to react when you91裸聊视频檙e having to get in close quarters with a calf and the calf91裸聊视频檚 in distress. It91裸聊视频檚 a highly unpredictable situation because sometimes moms can be quite aggressive,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淪o, this was one where we had to be extremely careful. The mom was stressed when the calf was stressed, so we had to disengage a number of times because she would do a high energy breach very close to us.91裸聊视频�
He said the calf itself was an enormous 25-foot patient for the crew to work with and that tranquilizers are not used on whales due to concerns over dosage and potential drownings.
91裸聊视频淭hese animals are massive, they91裸聊视频檙e powerful and it really is dangerous,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭he mom is 45 feet long and a tremendous, powerful, animal that could create havoc if you91裸聊视频檙e not careful. It91裸聊视频檚 very nerve wracking, but yet you have to be patient, calm and collected.91裸聊视频�
He said the six-hour rescue was full of 91裸聊视频渦p and down91裸聊视频� moments, but the end result 91裸聊视频渃ouldn91裸聊视频檛 have gone better,91裸聊视频� and the calf showed high energy as it swam away after he had cut the last piece of rope off.
91裸聊视频淭he calf just took off like a shot91裸聊视频t91裸聊视频檚 really hard to describe the euphoria of all that effort coming together and being successful. There91裸聊视频檚 nothing like it for sure,91裸聊视频� he said adding the calf joined its mom and swam off. 91裸聊视频淭hey started swimming together at the surface, which was cool to see.91裸聊视频�
He said the crew watched the animal to confirm no entanglements remained.
91裸聊视频淎ny type of gear on an animal can kill it overtime because it works into the blubber and it can get infected and it91裸聊视频檚 just awful,91裸聊视频� he said adding the calf suffered some superficial injuries, but will survive. 91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 going to be some scarring, but not life threatening at all91裸聊视频t91裸聊视频檚 great that this calf91裸聊视频檚 going to have a chance to hopefully grow up to be an adult animal that contributes to the population.91裸聊视频�
He said the gear the calf had been wrapped up in was identified as recreational prawn gear that was set in Barkley Sound and the gear91裸聊视频檚 owner told DFO it had been missing for roughly four weeks.
91裸聊视频淎ny vertical line in the water is a potential entanglement situation,91裸聊视频� Cottrell said adding the gear91裸聊视频檚 owner is not facing any charges as the gear was active and the entanglement accidental. 91裸聊视频淥ur first pillar obviously is prevention, but if we have vertical lines in the water, we91裸聊视频檙e going to have the potential for entanglement, that91裸聊视频檚 just how it works unfortunately91裸聊视频e91裸聊视频檙e continually looking at that and implementing any management measures that may help.91裸聊视频�
Surfrider Pacific Rim hosted an eight-day shoreline cleanup in the Broken Group Islands last month where 70 per cent of the debris collected came from the fishing and aquaculture industries, according to chapter manager Lilly Woodbury.
91裸聊视频淲hile it91裸聊视频檚 incredible and fortunate that the Marine Mammal Rescue team was able to disentangle the humpback calf on Sept 9, it is not enough to address this issue by dealing with it reactively. We need to work together to address the root of the problem to prevent these tribulations from occurring in the first place,91裸聊视频� Woodbury told the Westerly. 91裸聊视频淥ne of the ways this can be achieved is by expanding the scope of extended producer responsibility so that the manufacturers of fishing and aquaculture equipment are responsible for the entire life cycle of their products.91裸聊视频�
Anyone who spots a marine mammal in distress must immediately report their sighting to DFO at 1-800-465-4336.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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