Entangled Grey Whale Rescued off Dana Point Coast

DANA POINT— Early in the morning on June 15, a 28-foot juvenile gray whale was spotted entangled in a gillnet off the coast of Laguna Beach. The whale was monitored by a team of boats, allowing a better chance that the whale could be helped. After a three-hour effort two miles off the Dana Point Harbor jetty, rescuers had successfully cut through the massive bundle of netting, and the whale swam free, heading north at 4 knots. “The whale was originally reported on Monday morning off Redondo Beach, then resighted on Wednesday morning off Aliso Canyon by a Dana Wharf fishing boat,” said SeaWorld Public Relations Officer, Tracy Spahr in an email from June 27. “Multiple groups, including SeaTow, Newport Coastal Adventure, Captain Dave’s Dolphin Safari, and private boaters, had their eyes on the whale to assist the response team with resighting the whale.” Two authorized rescue teams, Sea World San Diego and Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) out of Laguna Beach, led by Keith Yip, in coordination with NOAA, began the rescue by documenting the nature and type of entanglement. Once they understood how the whale was entangled, the SeaWorld San Diego Rescue Team, with assistance from PMMC, used multiple tactics to...