About eight whales a year in Alaska are freed from fishing nets, crab pot lines and other marine equipment that threaten the animals’ survival.
Research fisheries biologist John Moran of Auke Bay Laboratories in Juneau said at an Earth Day presentation Saturday that whale entanglements are increasing around Juneau, and the fishing community is the first line of defense.
Moran’s team of trained rescuers have responded to about 210 cases of tangled whales since 2001, including a humpback whale caught in a gillnet several years ago in Lynn Canal. Since 1990, 65 animals were freed from life-threatening entanglements, 17 died, 19 were self-released and the fate of 105 is unknown.
Humpback whales that find themselves caught in Southeast are often juveniles whose curiosity and playfulness lead to entanglements. Although humpbacks can dive 500 to 700 feet and swim under nets cast in deep water, young whales might not know better, Moran said.
Fisherman Norm Hughes said maybe once every five years a whale will bump into or tear through his gillnet.
“In the old days, you’d run up and down your nets and whales would move on, but now I think they’re so associated with boat motors that I don’t think it matters to them anymore. They’re not shy,” Hughes said.
Hughes said a net can cost about $5,000, and fisherman are doing more to avoid collisions. He said a whale getting caught in a net is bad press for the fishing community that really does try to avoid the collisions.
To avoid whales getting tangled, Hughes said he pulls tight on equipment to let the whales break through, uses high frequency water-activated “pingers” to alert the whale of a net, or fishes in a completely different area when whales are around.
“I think we do a good job of avoiding it, but you could be careful and it still happens,” Hughes said. “Whales happen and there just seems to be more of them. We’re all trying to get along out there and earn our keep.”
When humpbacks migrate to the warmer waters of Hawaii in winter, they sometimes carry nets, ropes and equipment thousands of miles and for months or years.
Heavy ropes and nets can cut into whale flesh and cause infection, drowning, starvation or deterioration of general health. Trailing equipment also can slow a whale down and make them more susceptible to boat strikes.
Slides during Moran’s presentation showed scars on one whale that had been struck by boats multiple times and skin lesions on another whale unable to clean itself due to trapped gear.
The process of slowing down and freeing a 40-ton animal is dangerous, Moran said. Trained rescuers use a technique not unlike an old whaling maneuver called “kegging,” where an inflatable boat pulls alongside the whale while crew throw a grappling hook that attaches to lines tangled around the animal. An attached telemetry buoy allows the team to track the whale if it moves away.
Crewmen then use knives on poles and other special cutting tools to cut away gear.
“You need to think clearly and do what you need to do fast,” Moran said. There are risks of the whale diving or flipping the boat.
Weather and a whale’s temperament are among factors that determine success of rescues. Rescuers for days followed a whale that got caught in a buoyed mooring line near Admiralty Island’s Pack Creek bear-viewing area a few summers ago. But the humpback kept meeting up with other whales that seemed to encourage it to swim away, he said. The fate of that animal is unknown.
After the gear is removed from an animal, Moran said, his team tries to contact the owner of the gear for more information on how the whale became entangled.
“The ultimate goal is not to set every animal free, but to raise awareness,” Moran said.
Commercial fishermen in Southeast can take actions to prevent whales from running into nets like removing gear from the water for storage, avoiding sets near animals, alerting whales with “pingers” attached to fishing gear and communicating with other fisherman about whales in the area.
Whales are federally protected and approaching within 100 yards is prohibited. People who see a whale caught in equipment should take photos and video and report the incident immediately to authorities. They can call the 24-hour statewide stranding hotline at 877-925-7773 or Juneau Auke Bay Lab at 907-271-5006.