A humpback whale that had been thrilling boaters off Newport Beach, Ca., for several days breached for a prolonged period Sunday, revealing that the mammal is hardly free and thriving.
The accompanying Instagram post by Mark Girardeau highlights “the tragedy of yet another human-created problem” in the form of a commercial fishing rope running through the whale’s mouth and wound tightly around its right pectoral fin.
“We’re hoping the best for this whale!” Girardeau, who was with Newport Coastal Adventure, stated in his description. “Rescue teams are on the lookout for this whale to be sighted again.”
Even if a NOAA-trained rescue team locates the juvenile whale, approaching for an attempt to cut or loosen the rope would be challenging and dangerous – perhaps impossible if the whale is breaching or actively feeding.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a researcher, stated via Facebook that the whale was probably trying to free itself when it breached repeatedly for 2.5 hours on Sunday.
Closeup reveals rope around humpback whale’s pectoral fin. Photo: ©Mark Girardeau
She added that the whale could lose its pectoral fin because the rope is wound so tightly.
It’s unclear when or where the whale became entangled, but ropes attached to crab and lobster gear always pose threats to whales.
Aerial shot shows rope caught in humpback whale’s mouth. Photo: ©Mark Girardeau
Girardeau was among photographers capturing footage of the whale on Sunday and allowed the use of his images for this post.
While trained rescuers would love to free the whale, they might not get an opportunity because humpback whales presently off Southern California are migrating to Mexico for the winter.
Humpback whale raises entangled pectoral fin. Photo: ©Mark Girardeau
The whale is known to science, cataloged by Happy Whale as HW-MN0503323, and has been documented five times since 2023 between Morro Bay and San Diego.