Entangled humpback spotted near Niihau

LIHUE — Local mariners and pilots are being asked to keep an eye out for an entangled humpback whale spotted by a tour boat captain off the island of Niihau Tuesday morning.

“The animal is carrying large gauge line wrapped around its body forward of the dorsal fin and very likely around its tail stock as well,” Ed Lyman, the whale entanglement response coordinator for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, wrote in an alert.

The line trails about 50 to 60 feet behind the animal, which Lyman described as a sub-adult or adult humpback, measuring 30 to 40 feet in length. Most noticeable are the two red polyballs, or buoys, trailing behind the animal.

Lyman said his preliminary investigation suggests the gear originated from Alaska, which means the whale likely carried it 2,000-plus miles to the Hawaiian Islands.

“Markings, size of line, configuration of buoys all suggest pot gear from Alaska,” he said.

Despite the heavy burden, the animal is mobile and was last spotted by Niihau helicopters traveling along the leeward coast of Niihau.

“The animal is in poor condition, being emaciated, light-colored, rough-skinned and has a bent over dorsal fin,” Lyman wrote. “The entanglement is considered life threatening.”

Mel Wills, operations manager of Holo Holo Charters, said one of his company’s vessels, captained by Wendell Merritt, spotted the distressed whale around 10:20 a.m. inside the crater at Lehua, on Niihau’s north end.

“Every season we seem to spot at least one entangled animal,” he said.

Lyman said the line and buoys could be “ghost gear” — derelict gear left or lost in the ocean — or actively being fished at the time of entanglement.

Jean Souza, the sanctuary’s Kauai programs manager, said one of the major challenges when dealing with entangled animals is increasing the number of accurate reports, as well as limiting the false ones. In the past, sending out by-catch incident alerts has resulted in dozens of false sighting, which ultimately take time away from actually locating the distressed animal and getting it the help it needs, she said.

“Every mother and calf, every playful whale, was called in,” Lyman said of similar situations in the past. “Basically, we just got to be more careful.”

With this particular whale, Lyman hopes the two red buoys will reduce false reports.

If spotted, despite its poor condition, the animal still has a fighting chance.

“It could still make it,” Lyman said. “I’ve seen some whales that are pretty bad off and survive.”

To date, the Hawaiian Islands Entanglement Response Network has freed 19 large whales from life-threatening entanglements in Hawaii. Those incidents have included the removal of nearly 8,000 feet of measurable line and 45 sets of gear, according to Lyman. And by-catch is not only a result of fishing gear.

“We have animals entangled in marine debris, fishing gear, mooring gear and even scientific gear,” Lyman said. “We have traced gear entangled on whales as far away as the Pribilof Islands in the middle of the Bering Sea — some 2,500 (nautical miles) straight line distance from Hawaiian Islands.”

While freeing an animal from a life-threatening situation is rewarding, the goals and objectives of the entanglement response network don’t end there. The network also focuses on gathering information to reduce entanglement threats in the future, promoting education and awareness and public safety, Lyman said.

“We all care and hate to see an animal suffer,” he said. “But these are very large animals that are likely to still be mobile. They don’t always understand that we are there to help them, and thus it can be extremely dangerous.”

For that reason, Lyman said entangled whales should be called in to NOAA, where trained professionals have the resources and experience to address the situation.

Mariners and pilots are asked to keep a look out for the animal, obtain additional documentation from appropriate distances (100 yards on water and 1000 feet from air) and call the NOAA Fisheries Hotline at 888-256-9840.