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Whale Disentangled on May 14, 2014 sighted Saturday
thriving in Monterey Bay by Marine Life Studies Peggy Stap of Marine Life Studies was out on their research vessel, Sweet Pea, in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary with 3 interns as part of their Research Scientist Program on Saturday, July 5, 2014, when they noticed a small humpback whale with an injury to the tail stock at the fluke (tail). It was later confirmed that this humpback was the same whale that was disentangled in April 2014 by the Whale Entanglement Team (WET)℠. Stap is part of WET for Central California tasked to respond to whales entangled in fishing gear and marine debris. |
injured whale wound from rear view
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The Whale Entanglement Team was called in on April 27, 2014 when an entangled humpback whale was reported in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary by a local whale watch company. Stap was involved in the WET response to the whale along with many other team members of WET including Pieter Folkens (leader of WET), Kathi Koontz, Homer Holm, J.D. Douglas, Ryan Berger, Mary Whitney, Nina Rosen, Kate Cummings, and Doug Ross.
An extraordinary rescue effort by trained WET responders of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program along the Central California Coast followed over the next two-and-a-half weeks. Due to strong winds and heavy seas, the WET was prevented from fully disentangling the whale while in Monterey Bay, so they traveled down to Santa Barbara to finish the job. They successfully removed the last bit of line still wrapped around the tail stock and retrieved the Argos telemetry buoy they had attached up in Monterey Bay where they also successfully removed a crab pot weighing over a 100 lbs and 250' of blue steel line. The whale was freed on May 14, 2014 down in the Sanata Barbara Channel, which is part of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
An extraordinary rescue effort by trained WET responders of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program along the Central California Coast followed over the next two-and-a-half weeks. Due to strong winds and heavy seas, the WET was prevented from fully disentangling the whale while in Monterey Bay, so they traveled down to Santa Barbara to finish the job. They successfully removed the last bit of line still wrapped around the tail stock and retrieved the Argos telemetry buoy they had attached up in Monterey Bay where they also successfully removed a crab pot weighing over a 100 lbs and 250' of blue steel line. The whale was freed on May 14, 2014 down in the Sanata Barbara Channel, which is part of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
Click the button to the left to donate. If you rather make a donation directly to Marine Life Studies,
you can donate by check and mail to:
Marine Life Studies' WET, PO Box 163, Moss Landing, CA 95039
you can donate by check and mail to:
Marine Life Studies' WET, PO Box 163, Moss Landing, CA 95039
It was a great exercise for Stap's interns to help with the identification and documentation of data when they sighted the previously disentangled whale on Saturday during their research boat surveys. The interns included Stephanie Marcos from Marina, a CSUMB student (California State University of Monterey Bay), Anna Hunter, a recent graduate from Galway, Ireland, and Maya Hoffman, a high school student from Denver School of Arts in Colorado.
Stap commented, "When we first spotted this whale I just knew it had to be the same whale we disentangled." It was not until Stap and her crew got off the water and downloaded all the photos to make comparisons did they confirm that it was in fact the whale that was successfully disentangled. The photos were sent to Pieter Folkens, who also verified it was the same whale.
Marine Life Studies is a registered non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status. Donations and gifts are tax deductible. The interns were thrilled to be part of the re-sighting of this humpback whale. "A great ending to a miracle story! This is the 'fruit' of the amazing work of the WET. WET gave this little whale another chance at life! Remarkable day," stated Marcos. Hunter agreed adding, "The survival and continued healing of this whale proves that WET is an essential component off our coast." Hoffman recounted the experience: "When we came upon the humpback I was tasked with taking the data. I had to record each respiration [i.e. number of times it took a breath and how long it stayed under the surface between breaths.] It was a wonderful experience to see how the humpback was doing: living, healing and thriving, all a wonderful experience to see how the humpback was doing: living, healing and thriving, all thanks to WET"
Stap commented, "When we first spotted this whale I just knew it had to be the same whale we disentangled." It was not until Stap and her crew got off the water and downloaded all the photos to make comparisons did they confirm that it was in fact the whale that was successfully disentangled. The photos were sent to Pieter Folkens, who also verified it was the same whale.
Marine Life Studies is a registered non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status. Donations and gifts are tax deductible. The interns were thrilled to be part of the re-sighting of this humpback whale. "A great ending to a miracle story! This is the 'fruit' of the amazing work of the WET. WET gave this little whale another chance at life! Remarkable day," stated Marcos. Hunter agreed adding, "The survival and continued healing of this whale proves that WET is an essential component off our coast." Hoffman recounted the experience: "When we came upon the humpback I was tasked with taking the data. I had to record each respiration [i.e. number of times it took a breath and how long it stayed under the surface between breaths.] It was a wonderful experience to see how the humpback was doing: living, healing and thriving, all a wonderful experience to see how the humpback was doing: living, healing and thriving, all thanks to WET"
right side
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left side
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The humpback whale was first sighted on Saturday was only 232 yards from where the team first sighted it on April 27, 2014. There is a great chance that spottings of this humpback will continue and that Marine Life Studies will be able to continue to monitor its healing process.
Stap said, "The last time I saw this whale is when we watched it swim free after disentangling it on May 14th in the Santa Barbara Channel. To know it swam all the way from there back to Monterey Bay is so amazing. The feeling of joy in my heart and the excitement was something I could not put into words. But knowing our efforts as the Whale Entanglement Team allowed this subadult humpback whale to have a chance to be a productive part of a population of whales that are on the endangered species list is special indeed."
Noozhawk reports on the re-sight with video - read more here.
If any one sights this humpback whale please stay 100 yards from the animal. Note the time, date and location (latitude/longitude) if you are able along with any photos. Please contact Marine Life Studies with the information at 831-901-3833 or contact us here
Stap said, "The last time I saw this whale is when we watched it swim free after disentangling it on May 14th in the Santa Barbara Channel. To know it swam all the way from there back to Monterey Bay is so amazing. The feeling of joy in my heart and the excitement was something I could not put into words. But knowing our efforts as the Whale Entanglement Team allowed this subadult humpback whale to have a chance to be a productive part of a population of whales that are on the endangered species list is special indeed."
Noozhawk reports on the re-sight with video - read more here.
If any one sights this humpback whale please stay 100 yards from the animal. Note the time, date and location (latitude/longitude) if you are able along with any photos. Please contact Marine Life Studies with the information at 831-901-3833 or contact us here
Click the button to the left to donate. If you rather make a donation directly to Marine Life Studies,
you can donate by check and mail to:
Marine Life Studies' WET, PO Box 163, Moss Landing, CA 95039
you can donate by check and mail to:
Marine Life Studies' WET, PO Box 163, Moss Landing, CA 95039
How you can help if you see an entangled whale:
Report immediately, call 877-SOS-WHALE (877-767-9425) or hail the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF CH-16.
If possible, please stay with the animal while maintaining 100 yards distance from the animal. Authorized personnel will guide you as what to do next.
If possible, please stay with the animal while maintaining 100 yards distance from the animal. Authorized personnel will guide you as what to do next.
Provide the following information to help authorized responders:
All photos are copyrighted. Photos taken under the MMHSRP Permit. The Whale Entanglement Team (WET)® is part of the West Coast Large Whale Entanglement Response Network.
Learn more about WET® and how you can help.
- Note the nature of the entanglement, location of the entanglement on the whale's body (i.e. a blue line wrapped around the tail (fluke) and wrapped around body by dorsal fin, description of the gear trailing (i.e. buoys if any and the number and color of the buoys, line or other gear trailing with approximate distance behind the whale the gear is trailing).
- Relay the whale's exact location (be as specific as possible, include latitude and longitude if available). Did you know you can get your exact location with your smart phone. Click to learn how.
- Other details such as is the animal swimming (speed and direction the animal is heading, is it diving or staying on the surface, is it breathing). One of the important keys to the success of freeing a whale from a life-threatening entanglement is to have someone standing by until one of our Whale Entanglement Team members arrives.
- If you are able, while maintaining 100 yards from the whale, please take high-resolution photographs of the whale including: the right and left side of the animal including the dorsal fin, the head and back on both sides, the area between the dorsal fin and the fluke (tail), the underside of the fluke if the animal is diving (if it dives it will raise its fluke vertically above the water and the underside of that fluke is a unique pattern that we can identify individual animals, like a human fingerprint), and any trailing gear or buoys.
All photos are copyrighted. Photos taken under the MMHSRP Permit. The Whale Entanglement Team (WET)® is part of the West Coast Large Whale Entanglement Response Network.
Learn more about WET® and how you can help.
