Fishermen Find Whale Trapped In Net
POSTED: 7:43 am PDT July 26, 2007
UPDATED: 1:54 pm PDT July 26, 2007
SEATTLE -- A 30-foot whale was found tangled in fishing nets early Thursday morning in the shallow waters of Elliot Bay, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.
At about 4 a.m. a fisheries chief and biologist from the Muckleshoot tribe said they were out monitoring Chinook salmon runs when they came upon a whale that was caught in the net of another tribal fishing boat.
Although the net had been cut free from that boat, the whale was still caught up in hundreds of feet of fishing net.
The men called the Fire Department, Coast Guard and the Department of Fish and Wildlife but said no one was able to come out and assist them.
In an attempt to save the whale, the tribal employees said they connected the net to a spool on the boat.
The men said the whale, which was at least as big as their 30-foot boat, headed for the bottom and they feared it would sink their vessel.
Following about 40 minutes of struggling with the whale, the men said they were able to cut the net and free the whale, but are unsure how much of the net may still be with it.
Whale experts said they are on standby in case the whale is spotted and they have a chance to disentangle it.
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor said the whale could have fishing gear and netting caught in its mouth, which would prevent it from feeding and cause it to starve to death.
Balcomb said such scenarios happen about 100 times a year.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/13760056/detail.html
POSTED: 7:43 am PDT July 26, 2007
UPDATED: 1:54 pm PDT July 26, 2007
SEATTLE -- A 30-foot whale was found tangled in fishing nets early Thursday morning in the shallow waters of Elliot Bay, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.
At about 4 a.m. a fisheries chief and biologist from the Muckleshoot tribe said they were out monitoring Chinook salmon runs when they came upon a whale that was caught in the net of another tribal fishing boat.
Although the net had been cut free from that boat, the whale was still caught up in hundreds of feet of fishing net.
The men called the Fire Department, Coast Guard and the Department of Fish and Wildlife but said no one was able to come out and assist them.
In an attempt to save the whale, the tribal employees said they connected the net to a spool on the boat.
The men said the whale, which was at least as big as their 30-foot boat, headed for the bottom and they feared it would sink their vessel.
Following about 40 minutes of struggling with the whale, the men said they were able to cut the net and free the whale, but are unsure how much of the net may still be with it.
Whale experts said they are on standby in case the whale is spotted and they have a chance to disentangle it.
Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor said the whale could have fishing gear and netting caught in its mouth, which would prevent it from feeding and cause it to starve to death.
Balcomb said such scenarios happen about 100 times a year.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/13760056/detail.html
