Marine mammal rescuers operating on Vancouver Island have reported a high volume of whale entanglements this summer. Paul Cottrell, who serves as the marine mammal coordinator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, revealed that his team has been attending to approximately one to two entanglements per week over the past two months, a rate consistent with last year. Alongside addressing entanglements, the team has also conducted several necropsies.
The most recent incident occurred last week, marking the third activation of Cottrell’s team within a span of less than two weeks. In this case, a humpback whale calf and its mother were discovered near the south coast of Vancouver Island entangled in over 100 meters of rope. The team traced the gear back to July 5 when the calf went missing from British Columbia’s central coast.
The rescue operation took seven hours to free the calf, with collaboration from U.S. counterparts. Cottrell expressed the team’s satisfaction in saving the calf, emphasizing the importance of each animal’s well-being. Prior to this event, the team had responded to two entanglement incidents within two days, including the disentanglement of a whale named Wiggins near French Creek and another call at the Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island.
Cottrell highlighted the increasing frequency of entanglements, attributing the rise to the growing presence of humpback whales in British Columbia’s inshore waters. While the recovery of humpback populations is a positive development, he noted the concerning overlap with fishing gear in these areas.
Researcher and educator Jackie Hildering from the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) commended conservation efforts that have afforded humpback whales a “second chance” following historical endangerment due to hunting. However, she expressed concerns about the ongoing entanglement issues, noting that a significant portion of whales she has documented show signs of previous entanglements.
Hildering stressed the importance of prevention and education in addressing entanglement risks, advocating for proactive measures to safeguard whales. She urged individuals on the water to undergo whale-safe boating training provided by MERS, endorsed by the federal government, to mitigate entanglement incidents and support the long-term survival of these marine mammals.