Aug 24, 2006 3:33 pm US/Eastern
Whale Severely Injured By Fishing Rope Off Chatham
CHATHAM (CBS4) ―
Rescue crews have freed a humpback whale that was entangled in rope about 30 milies off Chatham.
A rescue team from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies was called to the scene Wednesday morning. The whale had heavy rope wrapped twice around the base of its tail. A wire-mesh trap hung beneath the rope.
The PCCS called this one of the worst entanglements seen in the past twenty years.
"The injury to the whale was extreme," explained Scott Landry of PCCS. "The wraps of rope had deeply severed the tailstock of the whale."
The whale was freed of the rope and trap but it's long-term prognosis is not good.
"This whale's mobility is severely impaired by the loss of its flukes. This will likely affect its ability to feed and to defend itself. The wound may be subject to infection which will further compromise this whale," explained Greg Krutzikowsky, director of the Whale Disentanglement Program at PCCS.
The gear removed from this whale will be turned over to the National Marine Fisheries Service for identification and use in ongoing research into entanglement mitigation.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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