Massachusetts Center for Coastal Studies team frees entangled humpback whale calf

“On Tuesday, the Center’s Marine Animal Entanglement Response team successfully freed a humpback whale calf with its mother close by in waters off Chatham.

Staff from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy discovered the whale and called the MAER team. Once on the scene, MAER assessed the entanglement and decided to cut the rope using a long pole and a hook-shaped cutting tool.

An already tricky job was even more fraught by the presence of the calf’s mom with two whales potentially reacting to their presence. But the process went smoothly and MAER removed all the rope from the calf.

Thanks for all your help AWSC!” -Center for Coastal Studies.