Humpback Whale freed near Monterey after being entangled in crab traps for six months

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) - A California Humpback Whale is recovering after being entangled in lines of crab traps for six months off the coast of Monterey.

A trained team from the Large Whale Entanglement Response network freeing that humpback whale named Check, over the course of a few days.

Blue Ocean Watch Watching owner Kate Cummings reported the entangled whale after spotting him while she was guiding a whale watching tour.

"Check this particular whale that was entangled was not lifting its flukes because of the entanglement the crab pot was weighing down its tail," Cummings said.

Doug Sandilands helped lead the team to help Check, made up of the Cascadia Research Collective, Marine Mammal Center and Marine Life Studies.

“We went out and were able to remove 400 feet of line from the whale at that point, but fog rolled in," Sandilands said.

Later on in early April, the team had a weather window open and spotted the whale’s return near the coast of Pacific Grove.

“We're sticking a GoPro camera on a pole underwater to see exactly how the whales wrapped up. And so we ended up cutting about seven lines," Sandilands said.

He adds fishing traps can pose a risk to Humpback Whales, but local fisherman and government agencies have taken steps and made efforts to minimize the risk of entanglement.

Amid the late start to commercial Dungeness Crab season, local fishermen told KION earlier this year, they’d like to see a balanced solution that works for all.

“We understand the plight of we don't want to kill the whales, we don't want to kill the turtles. We want to protect everything... we want them to work with us too, Monterey Fish Company Manager Gaspar Catanzaro said in January.

Ultimately, the team behind this whale freed from the entanglement glad they could help make an impact.

“[The whale is] bringing its tail up and doing some breaches, and it was looking very healthy. that was very encouraging that the whale will probably survive this entanglement, which is fantastic," Sandilands said.