A whale that got trapped in a gillnet off the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula about a week ago has been freed, officials said Wednesday.
The adult gray whale was first spotted by whale watchers on April 8, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries said in a news release on Wednesday.
A day later, a trained and authorized team used aerial drones and underwater cameras to document the entanglement and found that the gillnet had snagged a rock crab trap, keeping the whale from swimming free.
“The whale was anchored in place because of the trap about 100 feet down on the sea floor and was having difficulty coming to the surface to breathe,” NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Justin Greenman said.
Video shared by NOAA Fisheries showed team members reaching over the side of their boat as they cut the net with specialized tools.
“After working for 2 hours, they were able to cut off the net, and the whale swam free!” NOAA Fisheries’ post on Instagram read.
To report an injured, dead, or stranded marine mammal, contact NOAA’s West Coast Stranding Hotline at 866-767-6114. To report an entangled marine mammal, call NOAA’s Entanglement Reporting Hotline at 877-767-9425.