LA PUSH — Biologists on Wednesday were working to untangle a juvenile gray whale that had become stuck in fishing gear more than 15 miles off La Push.<\/p>\n
The condition of the whale was not immediately available Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The Coast Guard reported the entanglement on Twitter on Tuesday. A tracker was placed on the whale to help crews find it Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Members of Cascadia Research Collective and SR3, two nonprofits that specialize in whales and whale disentanglements, responded on boats Wednesday with assistance from the Coast Guard, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official said.<\/p>\n
“They’re headed out to see if they can make a run at disentanglement,” said Michael Milstein, NOAA Fisheries regional spokesman.<\/p>\n
“It’s a juvenile gray whale that has apparently been entangled for a long time. The lines are deeply embedded in the whale.<\/p>\n
“It’s not in top shape at the moment, so were not sure how likely it is to survive,” Milstein added.<\/p>\n
“But the team will do its best to get the lines off of it.”<\/p>\n
John Calambokidis, research biologist and founder of Cascadia Research Collective, was assisting with the disentanglement when reached by cell phone Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He would not provide an update on the rescue or the whale’s condition.<\/p>\n
“Nothing I can share at the moment,” Calambokidis said. “It’s an ongoing response right now.”<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman with Coast Guard District 13 in Seattle said she had no further information on the rescue.<\/p>\n
“It’s not real promising, but were going to do the best we can under the circumstances,” Milstein said in a telephone interview.<\/p>\n
Milstein added that there had been four entangled whales off the Washington coast within the last month.<\/p>\n
“Usually we get that many in a year, maybe,” Milstein said in a Wednesday email.<\/p>\n
“We’re not sure why the number seems to be up this spring, but we are working with fishermen to try to minimize the risk of further entanglements.”<\/p>\n
For information on whale entanglements and the NOAA Fisheries response program, click on www.tinyurl.com\/PDN-entangledwhales<\/a>.<\/p>\n ________<\/p>\n