The Maui News

Trained responders freed a humpback whale tangled up in gear off Lahaina on Tuesday.

The animal was caught in small gauge line through its mouth and around its left pectoral flipper, which trailed about 50 feet behind the whale in two lines, according to the NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service.

Tour vessels Teralani and Wahine Hana were helping the sanctuary look for a separated humpback whale calf that was reported by another tour vessel, Gemini, when they reported the subadult whale caught in the gear at 12:39 p.m. Wahine Hana was able to monitor the entangled whale from a safe and legal distance until Kohola, the sanctuary research and response vessel that was conducting research transects nearby, could get on scene.

A highly experienced response team boarded Ultimate Whale Watch’s research and response vessel, Aloha Kai, and approached the animal to determine whether the gear could be pulled from the animal’s mouth. Responders made several cuts, removing almost all the line and greatly increasing the animal’s chances of survival, the agencies said. However, a small amount of gear — about 30 feet of trailing line that had become embedded at the back of the whale’s mouth — could not be pulled out.

On the second approach, the team was able to remove about 90 feet of line, including the multiple wraps around the left pectoral flipper. They tried to remove the remaining gear, but the animal became uncooperative and presented a safety risk, prompting the decision to stand down. Less than 35 feet of gear is believed to remain on the animal and is not expected to wrap around the tail or cause much drag.

While there is no way to know whether the animal will survive, its chances have improved significantly, the agencies said.

The recovered gear will be analyzed to determine its possible origins and try to reduce entanglement threat in the future.

Efforts to free the whale involved personnel from the sanctuary, Cardinal Point Captains, Ultimate Whale Watch under the West Maui Rapid Response team, Keiki Kohola Project and others.

Using similarities in the entanglement and the whale’s unique fluke ID, responders determined that this was the same whale reported nearly a month earlier off the Kihei boat ramp. The sanctuary and its partners did not receive reports immediately, and while they conducted a search days after the report, the animal was not located at the time. Timely reporting is key to helping the animals, the agencies said.

Mariners should keep a sharp lookout for whales in distress but should not approach closely or attempt to assist them. Only trained and well-equipped responders that are authorized under a permit are allowed to assist whales and other marine mammals. The best response is to stay 100 yards away and immediately report the distressed animal to the NOAA 24/7 Marine Wildlife Hotline at (888) 256-9840. If mariners are unable to call, they can radio the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF channel 16.

It is illegal to approach a humpback whale closer than 100 yards by any means by sea and 1,000 feet by aircraft or drone.