An entangled humpback whale, spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island, has officials at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) concerned for his well-being.
Vector is a three-year-old humpback and was last spotted near Sentry Shoal, Campbell River, on June 28.
It is difficult to see but Vector has rope wrapped around him and officials would like anyone who spots him to contact them with his location.
He has a unique dorsal fin, which would help confirm his identification. Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal coordinator with the DFO, told Global News that due to the extensive research on humpback whales, they were able to identify Vector and his family.
“So we were able to piece that together and then look at the entanglement, which is real nasty,” he said.
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“It’s embedded in the dorsal side of the animal, which is really unfortunate and there’s not a lot of trailing gear. So this animal has maybe been entangled for a while because it’s not very visible.”
Cottrell said the next step will involve using a drone to try and find Vector and then using a working line to remove the rope, which will only constrict and potentially kill him if it is just left.
“It’s constricted around the dorsal side, near the blowhole and embedded,” he added.
“And we don’t know yet what the material is and what gear type, so that’s something we have to find out as well.”
If anyone sees a humpback in the Salish Sea, they are asked to maintain a distance of at least 200 metres and check to see if a rope is visible near the whale’s head.
If anyone thinks it is Vector, they are asked to contact the DFO Incident Reporting Line at 1-800-465-4336 with specifics about the location. They are asked to stay with the whale if possible, until a member of the response network can come and keep track of the whale.
“With the humpback population increasing in local waters, inshore waters, we’re seeing this rebound, which has been amazing,” Cottrell said.
“But in association with that, because of the overlap with humans in these inshore waters and fishing gear, we are seeing that unfortunate overlap with increased vessel strike risk and also entanglements.”
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