UPDATE: Volunteers keep eye out for entangled whale

UPDATE 4/7/2017 5:30 p.m.: The search continues for an entangled gray whale along the Central Coast.

“It’s a gray whale that’s entangled with a metal frame on its head. It’s a very unusual entanglement,” said Peggy Stap, executive director of Marine Life Studies and co-founder of the Whale Entanglement Team.

The whale was first spotted off of Dana Point last week. It has was later spotted near Goleta and most recently off of Piedras Blancas on Wednesday. It was seen with other whales.

It was expected to pass Pt. Pinos between Thursday night and Friday morning, but it’s unclear whether the whale would continue swimming near the coastline or cut through Monterey Bay toward Davenport.

A call has gone out to beach-goers and boaters to keep an eye out.

On Friday, Stap and volunteers monitored the waters from Monterey to Moss Landing to Santa Cruz and Davenport.

Despite stormy weather on Friday, whale watching and fishing companies are also remaining vigilant.

“Always on the alert, looking for whales that may be entangled or injured anyway,” said Dorris Welch, a marine biologist and owner of Sanctuary Cruises Whale Watching. “So we are always looking for whales that might have problems.”

If the whale is spotted, the Whale Entanglement Team (WET) wants to attach a telemetry buoy to it to track it, then a plan of action will be discussed to free the whale.

“We’re not sure if there’s other line hooked to that frame that might be wrapped around a pec fin or something,” Stap said.

If anyone does spot the whale, take a picture and note the location, then call Marine Life Studies at 877-SOS-WHALE.

ORIGINAL POST:

An entangled gray whale could be spotted in the Monterey Bay Thursday.

According to Monterey Bay Marine Life Studies, the whale was seen off of Piedras Blancas Wednesday afternoon and is making its way up the coast. It has a metal frame on its head.

The whale is expected to be off Pt. Pinos on Thursday afternoon through early Friday morning.

The non-profit organization wants people to be on the lookout for the whale, but not to approach the whale or try to disentangle it.

Researchers are asking people to stay with the whale, take photos, video and note the location of it if they spot the whale. They also need the travel direction, whether it is with others and its behavior in the water.

If you see the whale, immediately call the NOAA Entangled Whale Hotline at 1-877-SOS-WHALE or hail USCG on CH 16.