NOAA teams works to free entangled humpback whale off Kauai

By Matthew Nuttle

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    KAUAI COUNTY, Hawaii (KITV) — An adult humpback whale first spotted off Kauai entangled in hundreds of feet of heavy gauge line is finally free, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The whale was first spotted off Poipu on Jan. 16. NOAA said it was entangled in approximately 2,500 feet of heavy gauge line and appeared to be in distress.

An NOAA team found the whale on Jan. 21 and said it looked emaciated, rough-skinned, and had patches of whale lice on its body. The team managed to remove about 2,000 feet of the entangled line but they were not able to remove it all.

When the whale was spotted again on Jan.28, NOAA crews said its condition had deteriorated significantly. The team said the whale was even more emaciated, was rust-colored, and its body was nearly covered in whale lice. The team noted on this observation that the entangled gear was coming from the whale’s mouth.

This time, however, the team was able to remove another 300 to 500 feet of gear from the whale before it took back off into the ocean. Unfortunately, another 15 feet of line was unable to be removed due to its location at the back of the whale’s mouth.

“While the whale’s future is unknown, it hopefully is under less stress and has a better chance of survival now that we’ve removed the majority of the line. Responders will continue to study the gear to determine its identity and possible origin,” NOAA wrote, in part, about the rescue.

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