Rescuers search off Northern California coast for young gray whale entangled in gill net

SAN FRANCISCO– Rescuers were searching Wednesday for a gray whale that was last spotted off the coast of Northern California with its tail entangled in a huge gill net.

The 30-foot whale was spotted near San Francisco on Tuesday as it swam north as part of the annual migration of gray whales from Mexico to Alaska. The animal was dragging the net with two bright red buoys that rescuers attached to it on March 22, when the animal was first spotted near Laguna Beach in Southern California.

Justin Viezbicke, coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries’ response to the marine mammal stranding in California, said the rescue team stopped behind the animal on Tuesday but was unable to cut the net because it became aggressive.

“The team went there yesterday and made some attempts, but as the team got closer, the animal became very reactive,” Viezbicke said.

The NOAA team, which is working on the rescue effort with the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California, was searching for the whale north of San Francisco on Wednesday.

Kathi George, director of cetacean conservation biology at the Marine Mammal Center, said a rescue crew in Southern California was unable to disentangle the whale last month, but the team was able to attach a satellite tag to the net to track it and two buoys to make. it is easier to recognize the animal. But the tracker is no longer connected, she said.

George said if the rescue team spots the whale on Wednesday, they will try to cut the net or at least attach another satellite tag.

“Our goal is to recover the equipment from the whale so we can learn more about the entanglement and how it happened. We can use that to reduce the risks,” she said.

Each spring, gray whales migrate 5,000 miles from their birthing waters near Baja California, Mexico, to feeding grounds in the Arctic.