Tuesday July 23, 2024
YubaNet —
A juvenile humpback whale was confirmed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration entangled in fishing gear on July 13 off Redondo Beach and may still be trailing the heavy fishing gear, elevating concern over the whale’s condition and ability to survive. It was reported that fishing rope is wrapped around the whale’s fluke (tail), pulling a buoy behind it. Multiple eye-witness accounts describe how the entanglement is preventing the whale from swimming normally. Additionally, the whale was observed with high loads of sea lice, an indication the whale has been entangled for an extended time and the animal’s health is deteriorating. This raises concern over the whale’s ability feed, and the nature of the entanglement can make the whale susceptible to infection as heavy, tight ropes can dig into the animal’s flesh. While the fishery of origin is currently unknown, this is another alarming incident that more needs to be done to ensure whales have safe passage as they migrate and feed off our shores.
Entanglement in fishing gear is a top threat to endangered animals off the West Coast, including humpback whales and sea turtles. While most of these deadly entanglements go undetected, 27 whales were confirmed entangled in fishing gear that use vertical lines (such as for crab pots) off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington in 2023. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, roughly 75 percent of reported whale entanglements are fatal as whales can drag heavy fishing gear for months, hindering their ability to dive and feed. This can result in malnutrition, starvation, infection to damaged flukes and even severed appendages and drowning. While efforts have been made to reduce harm and injury to wildlife by closing fishing zones and reducing the amount of gear in the water in California’s Dungeness crab fishery, other fisheries do not have the same precautions and the number of entanglements is still far above the level allowed under federal law. Oceana is pushing for stronger regulations to further reduce these entanglements, including stricter closures to vertical line gear, comprehensive line marking, and new measures to prevent lost fishing gear.