A rescue team helped free a young humpback whale that was tangled in fishing gear south of San Francisco days after a fisherman first spotted it, a conservation group said Tuesday. The team then cut the fishing line running across the whale’s back, all the gear fell away, and the animal swam free, she said. Stap said another boat spotted it Friday, when a Marine Life Studies team was nearby and able to stay with the giant mammal until rescuers arrived. AdvertisementIn March, rescuers worked to untangle a gray whale that got caught in a buoy net near Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard. In 2015, more than 60 whales were found entangled in fishing gear in the waters off California, a 400% spike over what was then normal.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 17, 2019 22:09 UTC