Humpback Freed From Lobster Trap Line Off California Coast

photo credit:KFMB/CNN

The US Coast Guard and SeaWorld worked together over the weekend to free a humpback whale from a lobster trap line. 

The whale was first spotted by a local fisherman and a rescue effort was launched six miles off the coast of La Jolla.

“I think we literally saved a life, because you could tell that this whale was definitely in some stress,” Keith Yip of SeaWorld told KFMB News. “It was in shallow water, and you could tell that it was dragging, basically, an anchor.

“The pots are pretty bulky and pretty heavy, and can really hamper the swimming ability of this whale. So this whale, I think it certainly would have struggled for quite a while and probably would have succumbed to the entanglement if we weren’t able to help it.”

The entire rescue operation was overseen by the National Marine Fisheries.

A big thank you to the folks from the Coast Guard and SeaWorld for their efforts to save this whale from certain death.

Source: WTOL News