Whale Entanglements

During the recent whale watching conference in Vava'u, we had a talk from Mike Morrissey who works for the Department of Conservation in NZ. His main job is the disentanglement of whales. In NZ crab pots and lines get Humpback Whales caught in them when they cross the shallower shores in Kaikoura.

To disentangle a whale is very difficult, the process can take many hours and should not be done by people who have not been trained. The whales that are entangled are extremely stressed out and can cause harm to anyone who is trying to disentangle them as well as further stressing the whale out.

Over in Hawaii, a juvenile Humpback Whale is trailing over 400ft of line, one rescue attempt was not successful as the weather and seas were strong. Another attempt will be made and we can only hope it will be successful.

Here in Vava'u, we are lucky not to have the crab pots and other lines that whales are exposed to, however as they migrate through the ocean from the feeding to the breeding grounds they are able to pick up discarded nets, long lines, crab pots and much more. As a whale swims with this attached to it, the lines become more deeply imbedded in their blubber, causing lice and infections to the skin.

Whales are also getting caught up in nets in Australia, which are put near swimming areas. Luckily the 6 whales caught this year were all released.

If you see a whale that is entangled, contact your local Fisheries or Environment and let them know what you saw, where you saw it.