Rescuers save mother humpback whale tangled in fishing gear

STELLWAGEN BANK - Rescuers saved a humpback whale who was tangled in fishing gear on Stellwagen Bank on Monday morning.

Whale tangled in fishing gear

The whale is known to the Center for Costal Studies (CCS) Humpback Whale Studies Program as Mudskipper. She was tangled in 150 feet of rope from fishing gear and accompanied by her 7-month-old calf.

The crew on a tuna boat called the Marine Animal Entanglement Response (MAER) team at CCS on Monday morning, describing a whale who was towing a buoy behind it on the north end of Stellwagen Bank, east of Boston.

Whale rescue

The rescue team found mudskipper with the rope through her mouth and the calf trying to nurse from her despite the entanglement. According to CCS, "the rope posed a risk of injuring Mudskipper over time or entangling the calf to her."

The team responded in its vessel Ibis and deployed a small inflatable boat. From there, the team added large floats to the entanglement. The drag from the floats and the inflatable boat the whale towed eventually pulled the rope out of her mouth. Both mother and calf then swam away and are expected to recover.

The team has responded to three entanglements of marine life in three weeks. Boaters should report entanglements of whales, sea turtles and marine animals to the MAER team at 1-800-900-3622.