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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015
Whales entangled at alarming rate along coast
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
LONG BEACH, Calif. — An unusual
ZaUPinJ in WKH 3aFi¿F OFHan Pa\ EH KaY-
ing disastrous consequences for the majestic
whales that use the waters off California as a
migrator\ suSer-highwa\.
7his \ear alone, more than whales en-
tangled in ¿shing gear haYe Eeen sSotted along
the coast — a more than Sercent sSiNe oYer
normal and a Sattern that Eegan in . 6cien-
tists EelieYe the whales ma\ Ee following Sre\
closer to shore as warm water inÀuences feed-
ing Satterns, Sutting them on a collision course
with ¿shermen, craEEers and loEstermen.
7he situation is so dire that the craE ¿sher\
has Eegun worNing closel\ with state and fed-
eral agencies and enYironmental grouSs to ¿g-
ure out where and how the whales are running
into their gear. 7he ocean mammals also haYe
Eecome entangled in gill nets and loEster gear,
Eut authorities haYe identi¿ed the craE ¿sher\
as the most urgent concern.
³7his time of \ear, the whales would Ee off-
shore Eut with the EloE of warm water, the\¶re
right off the Eeach. 7he\¶re right where the
craEs are,´ said -im Anderson, a craEEer who¶s
helSing to moEili]e the state¶s licensed
'ungeness craE ¿shermen. ³<ou go talN to a
gu\ who¶s Eeen ¿shing for or \ears and
he¶s neYer seen an\thing liNe it.´
:hales that haYe roSe stucN in their mouths
or wraSSed tightl\ around their ¿ns or tail will
eYentuall\ die if the\ can¶t free themselYes.
Highl\ trained Yolunteer rescue teams are onl\
Christine Armario/AP Photo
aEle to disentangle a small Sercentage desSite Capt. David Anderson of Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari in Dana Point, Calif., shows a net a whale was found en-
tracNing deYices that allow them to follow the tangled in. Anderson was among the first to realize whale entanglements were a serious problem when his tours kept running into
hoEEled animals for miles. 0an\ swim awa\ distressed whales. This year alone, more than 60 entangled whales have been spotted along the coast, a more than 400 percent spike.
and their fate is neYer Nnown.
A humSEacN whale that was Sartiall\ freed
recentl\ off La -olla, California had line stucN
in its mouth, a huge Nnot of roSe si[ feet Ee-
hind its tail and additional feet of roSe
and Euo\s dragging Eehind it. Another rescued
nearE\ had a -foot line looSed oYer its tail
that was connected to a loEster Sot still swing-
ing from the roSe¶s end underwater.
.eith <iS, who Yolunteers as the leader of a
disentanglement team sSonsored E\ 6ea:orld,
was inYolYed in Eoth rescues. He¶s Eeen called
out four times in the Sast si[ weeNs and has
logged rescues in the Sast two \ears — one-
¿fth of all the calls he¶s had in a -\ear career.
³,t¶s another joE in and of itself recentl\,´
said <iS, who is the curator of mammals at
6ea:orld. ³0\ weeNend da\s alone just the
Eric Risberg/AP Photo
Sast couSle of weeNs ,¶Ye sSent on the water.´ Crab fisherman Jim Anderson talks about
5ather than cracN down on the 'ungeness the lines used on his boat in Half Moon
craE ¿sher\, which can Ering in uS to mil- Bay, Calif.
lion a season, state and federal agencies decid-
ed to taS into the craEEers¶ collectiYe Nnowl- 7he cooSeration comes against the EacNdroS
edge to ¿gure out where wa\ward whales and of a two-decade Eattle Eetween enYironmen-
¿shermen are oYerlaSSing. 7he craE season is talists and loEster ¿shermen on the East Coast
dela\ed this \ear Eecause of a massiYe Eloom that hasn¶t \ielded answers Eut has ¿nancial-
of to[ic algae in the 3aci¿c, Eut craEEers are l\ deYastated loEstermen, said Geoff 6hester,
committed to helS
California camSaign
Eric Risberg/AP Photo
when the season does
director for Oceana.
Crab fisherman Jim Anderson poses by his crab pots in Half Moon Bay, Calif.
resume later this win-
,t¶s a Sromising
‘We’ve had more
ter or ne[t \ear.
start Eut ultimatel\
than 50 entangled might not Ee enough,
At a training ses-
sion this fall in Half
said 'aYid Ander-
whales this year
0oon Ba\, near-
son, caStain of CaSt.
l\ craEEers al-
'aYe¶s 'olShin and
off California, but
read\ learned how to
:hale :atching 6afa-
ri in Dana Point, Cali-
ShotograSh tangled
that’s just the tip
fornia.
whales, call them in
of the iceberg,” he
Anderson, who is
to a hotline and then
no relation to the craE
³EaE\sit´ them until
said. “Most of the ¿sherman, was among
authorities arriYe. A
the ¿rst to reali]e there
Eest Sractices guide
whales we’re not
was a serious SroElem
has Eeen distriEuted to
all craEEers.
seeing — and it’s a under the water when
his tours NeSt running
And when craE-
huge problem.’
into distressed whales.
Eing does resume,
Now, a critical Sart
¿shermen will worN
Capt. David Anderson
of his worN also in-
alongside scientists
captain of Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale
YolYes documenting
on their Eoats to test
Watching Safari in Dana Point, Calif.
— and resSonding to
different densities and
— entangled whales
strengths of roSe and
gear con¿gurations, including a new ³sinNing off the 6outhern California coast. Anderson,
roSe´ that reduces slacN in the line that could who¶s certi¿ed E\ federal marine authorities
entraS whales. Another Silot Srogram will log as a Yolunteer rescuer, EelieYes the hoEEled
where craEEers droS their Sots on G36-en- whales here are a s\mStom of a larger crisis
Eric Risberg/AP Photo
aEled i3ads.
that¶s telegraShed to the surface with each Lines are seen inside one of crab fisherman Jim Anderson’s crab pots in Half Moon Bay,
³:e¶Ye got Sots in the water, we¶Ye got struggling creature.
Calif. The rescue of a humpback whale that got entangled in crab pot netting last month got
roSes in the water and we¶Ye got whales in the
³:e¶Ye had more than entangled whales national attention, but scientists and fishermen have been alarmed for months by a dramatic
water,´ said Anderson. ³:hat can we do to this \ear off California, Eut that¶s just the tiS spike in the numbers of whales becoming entrapped in fishing gear off the California Coast.
maNe this a safe Slace for eYer\Eod\"´
of the iceEerg,´ he said. ³0ost of the whales Federal and state officials from several agencies are now partnering with crab fishermen up
EnYironmental grouSs are on Eoard, too. we¶re not seeing — and it¶s a huge SroElem.´ and down the California coast to develop strategies to reduce entanglements.
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