Marine animal rescuers on Vancouver Island report a busy summer dealing with whale entanglements. According to Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal coordinator with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, his team has been responding to an average of one to two entanglements per week over the last two months, which aligns with last year’s figures. They have also conducted several necropsies during this period.
The most recent incident occurred last week when a humpback whale calf, accompanied by its mother, was discovered entangled in over 100 meters of rope near the south coast of Vancouver Island. The calf had been dragging the rope since July 5 after going missing from B.C.’s central coast.
Cottrell’s team, in collaboration with U.S. counterparts, spent seven hours freeing the calf, marking the third activation in just under two weeks. Prior to this, they had disentangled a whale named Wiggins for the second time in a year near French Creek and responded to another entanglement in the Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island’s central coast.
Despite the success of saving individual whales, Cottrell expressed concern about the increasing frequency of entanglements, particularly with the rising number of humpbacks in British Columbia’s inshore waters. While this resurgence of humpbacks is a positive development, it has led to more interactions with fishing gear, posing a threat to the whales.
Jackie Hildering, a researcher and educator at the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), highlighted the importance of conservation efforts that have given humpback whales a “second chance” after being nearly hunted to extinction. However, she warned that this opportunity is at risk due to ongoing entanglements.
Hildering emphasized the need for proactive measures such as prevention and education to address the root cause of entanglements. She stressed that while disentanglements garner attention, they are not a long-term solution. Hildering urged boaters to undergo whale-safe training to prevent future entanglements and promote whale conservation.
The ongoing entanglement incidents underscore the need for increased awareness and action to protect marine wildlife in the region.