Rescuers off California on Tuesday freed a badly tangled humpback whale caught by fishing anchors that were dragging it to the ocean floor. The trapped whale was spotted two miles off Northern California on Thursday, and by Tuesday it was struggling to breathe, Folkens said. The animal had two fishing lines running through its mouth, at least six fishing buoys wrapped around a fin and fishing anchors pulling its tail straight down, Folkens said. It was the seventh instance this year of humpbacks caught in fishing gear off the West Coast. Conservation groups have pushed regulators to do more to compel fishing crews to reduce the number of whale entanglements, including 54 humpbacks caught in crabbing gear last year.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 19, 2017 02:48 UTC