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Mother humpback whale freed after 6 hours of detangling off Maui

The tight wrap of line and large bundle of marine debris around the humpback whale mother's head. MMHSRP permit #18786-06
M. Lammers
/
NOAA
The tight wrap of line and large bundle of marine debris around the humpback whale mother's head. MMHSRP permit #18786-06

An adult female humpback whale accompanied by her calf and a male escort humpback was not having an ideal Valentine's Day.

She was found entangled in a line with a large bundle of marine debris attached — her head caught in over 500 feet of fishing line.

The Pacific Islands Large Whale Entanglement Response team spent six hours removing the gear in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary off Maui, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement Tuesday.

Once she was freed, she went into resting behavior and tucked her calf under her chin. She suffered scarring around her mouth, but is otherwise in good condition.

"The successful response increased the survival chances for both the mother and her calf," NOAA said in a statement.

The line was tangled with various kinds of marine debris that accumulates in the waters around Hawaiʻi.

“The debris included a dozen different types of lines and netting," the statement said, with at least 30 feet of thick line estimated to be at least 1.5 inches thick. “While the gear sunk out of reach and couldn’t be recovered, responders obtained critical documentation of the removed gear to determine its possible origins.”

Zoe Dym was a news producer at Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
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