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Tenakee volunteers also assist NOAA with Bigg's killer whale necropsy.
Gordon Chew uses a GoPro on a pole to assess the humpback entanglement while Steve Lewis carefully negotiates the full circumference of the whale. Credit: Rachel Myron, NOAA permit #18786-04
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In the wee hours of the morning on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, residents of Tenakee Springs, Alaska were awakened by the unmistakable cries of distress.
The sound, which some Tenakee residents described as “squealing,” resonated across the water to the small, remote community of about 130 people in Southeast Alaska. It was a call from an adult humpback whale that was hogtied in crab pot gear just 200-300 yards from shore. The whale was severely entangled and stationary, but was able to surface to breathe.
By 8:15 a.m., residents had notified the Alaska Regional Office of NOAA Fisheries in Juneau to report the entanglement. Agency marine mammal experts deemed the entanglement to be very serious—the humpback could not move to pursue food—but not immediately life-threatening. Before a disentanglement operation could be attempted, NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources staff would need additional information about the complexity of the entanglement. Fortunately, two Tenakee residents already had NOAA Level 3 training in large whale entanglement response. Could they get underwater images?
Read more.
Questions?
Contact Julie Fair, Public Affairs Officer.
Special Note:
The email address and name of the Alaska Regional Office Public Affairs Officer has changed from julie.speegle@noaa.gov to julie.fair@noaa.gov. Please update your contacts accordingly. Thank you.
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