Marine mammal rescuers on Vancouver Island have reported a significant increase in whale entanglements this summer. Paul Cottrell, who oversees marine mammal activities at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, noted that his team has been busy responding to approximately one to two entanglements per week over the past two months, consistent with last year’s figures. Additionally, they have conducted several necropsies during this period.
The most recent entanglement case involved a humpback whale calf and its mother near the south coast of Vancouver Island. The calf was entangled in over 100 meters of rope, which it had been dragging since July 5 when it went missing from B.C.’s central coast. It took Cottrell’s team seven hours, working in collaboration with U.S. counterparts, to successfully free the calf.
Cottrell highlighted the frequency of entanglement incidents, citing the recent back-to-back calls his team received. They had to disentangle a whale named Wiggins for the second time in a year near French Creek before rushing to the central Island and the Alberni Inlet for another entanglement case. He expressed concern that entanglement rates show no signs of decreasing, attributing the issue to the increasing presence of humpback whales in inshore waters of British Columbia coinciding with fishing gear.
Jackie Hildering, a researcher and educator at the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), praised the conservation efforts that have given humpback whales a “second chance” after being hunted to near extinction. However, she cautioned that this opportunity is being jeopardized by the ongoing entanglement incidents. Hildering emphasized the importance of prevention and education in addressing the entanglement problem, advocating for proactive measures over reactive disentanglements.
She emphasized the need for public awareness and education on preventing humpback entanglements and deaths, recommending the MERS-developed whale safe boating course endorsed by the federal government. Hildering stressed that while disentanglements garner positive attention, the long-term survival of rescued whales remains uncertain, underscoring the need for holistic solutions to ensure the well-being of marine mammals.