The Maui News

A humpback whale tangled in line that would have prevented it from feeding was freed by a team of trained responders off Maalaea on Tuesday.

The adult male humpback was first spotted on Sunday by a Blue Water Maui tour vessel, according to a news release Wednesday from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. About 21 feet of heavy gauge line was wrapped tightly around the animal’s head in front of his pectoral flippers, which would have stopped it from feeding.

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement monitored the animal until the Ultimate Whale Watch response vessel Aloha Kai arrived to assess the entanglement, but the animal was eventually lost among the many whales in the area.

On Tuesday, PacWhale Eco-Adventures’ Ocean Voyager sighted the whale and hailed the sanctuary’s research vessel, Kohola, which was already on the water collecting humpback whale population health data.

Responders aboard Kohola prepared a hooked knife on the end of a 30-foot carbon-fiber pole to get close enough to make a cut in the line. After several approaches, the team was able to free the whale and recovered the gear, a seven-eighths-inch, three-strand, poly-blend line. The recovered gear will be investigated to determine its origin and help reduce the risk of entanglement, NOAA said.

Mariners are asked to keep a sharp lookout for whales in distress but not to approach closely or attempt to assist them. Only trained and well-equipped responders that are authorized under a permit are allowed to assist entangled whales and other marine mammals.

Immediately reporting an entangled or otherwise injured or distressed whale to the statewide NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline at (888) 256-9840 or the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF channel 16 is the best way to help the animal, NOAA said.

To report a vessel coming too close to a whale, call the NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964 or email respectwildlife@noaa.gov.

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