Ocean Sentry
A right whale seen tangled in ropes near Cumberland Island was freed Thursday by rescuers working from a small inflatable boat.
Searchers tracked the 2-year-old whale up the coast to near Sunbury in Liberty County before they were able to slice apart the gear wrapped around the animal”s head and mouth.
It was the fifth time this season a whale has been spotted entangled along the Georgia or Florida coast.
Rope from commercial fishing and lobster harvesting can pose a danger to whales because it interferes with their normal movement. Those lines also can cut into the animal’s flesh and create risks of infection, particularly when ropes hang on an animal for weeks or months.
The whale freed Thursday was spotted last month without any rope, said Erin Fougeres, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
When it was spotted this week, the animal had rope wrapped around its head and coming out of its mouth and trailing along the right side of its body, Fougeres said. She said researchers don’t know how the whale became ensnared.
There are about 300 to 400 right whales still living, making them one of the most endangered species.
Female whales travel to the Florida and Georgia coast each winter to give birth and nurture their calves, and are often accompanied by young whales. Their movements are closely tracked by researchers from government agencies and scientific groups.
(From jacksonville.com, Liberty County, Florida, by Steve Patterson
