A rescue team is being deployed to disentangle a right whale that’s been stuck in fishing gear for weeks.
The whale, believed to be one of the calves of a 35-year-old female named War (ID number 1812), was first observed on June 22 off of New Brunswick.
The calf is now in the St. Lawrence Estuary near Portneuf-sur-Mer, Que., about 300 kilometres north of Quebec City.
Back in June, it was already entangled in fishing gear. During multiple attempts to cut it free of its ropes, a tag was attached to track the movement of the whale, which can travel great distances, even while under stress.
According to Quebec’s marine mammal emergency response team, Réseau québécois d’urgences pour les mammifères marins, the whale is still dragging metres of rope around its pectoral fins and in its mouth.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is co-ordinating a follow-up operation to help the whale and a team from the Campobello Whale Rescue Team (CWRT) will attempt the disentanglement in the next few days.
According to observation reports from DFO air crews on July 8, the animal is swimming at a good pace and moving along the surface of the water.
Transport Canada is asking all vessels in the area to voluntarily reduce speed and not to exceed a maximum speed of 10.0 knots.
The Réseau québécois d’urgences pour les mammifères marins asks the public to respect a 400-metre distance with at-risk species.