ROCKPORT, Mass. — The Marine Animal Entanglement Response (MAER) team at the Center for Coastal Studies removed rope and fishing gear from a humpback whale in Ipswich Bay on Wednesday.
The young whale was spotted by recreational boaters on Tuesday who noticed a buoy from fishing gear dragging behind the humpback.
They immediately reported what they had seen to the U.S. Coast Guard who then contacted the MAER hotline.
No response could take place on Tuesday due to time and distance. The MAER team sent a message to the disentanglement network to look out for the whale.
The MAER team set out from Provincetown on Wednesday morning to locate the humpback. By late morning, a recreational boater spotted the whale and reported the sighting.
Once the team came into contact with the whale, they attached a grappling hook to the rope caught in its mouth. Using the tangled rope, they pulled behind the humpback to cut away the fishing buoy.
Lastly, they fastened large floats on the rope to drag the remaining entanglements from the whale.
The small humpback swam away soon after and is expected to make a full recovery.
Boaters are urged to report any marine animal entanglements to the MAER team or the U.S. Coast Guard.
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