Humpback Whale Rescued in Alaska After Getting Tangled in Rope

This young humpback whale was entangled in fishing gear, anchoring him in place in the highly trafficked Iliuliuk Bay in Alaska. A team of experts from @noaa, NOAA partners, and local trained volunteers came to the rescue, using a brand new piece of equipment to cut the whale free.

The humpback was essentially ‘hog-tied’: a rope stretched through its mouth and down both sides of its body, tangling around its tail before dropping off to anchor to a piece of equipment on the seafloor. Rescuers used a ‘whale disentanglement exoscope,’ essentially a knife and live-streaming camera attached to a 28-foot-long pole, to cut through the ropes remotely.

Once freed, the humpback swam away quickly. @noaafisheries the Alaska Department of Fish & Game are investigating where the fishing gear came from, and attempting to identify the whale.