A humpback whale near Tracy Arm became entangled in a cruise vessel’s anchor line for almost 12 hours Sunday morning, but was freed by a team of marine mammal entanglement experts Sunday afternoon.
The humpback struck the Uncruise Adventures cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer at about 2:15 a.m. Sunday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said in a Monday press release. A responding team of marine mammal entanglement specialists believe they freed the whale by cutting an anchor chain at about 2 p.m. Sunday.
“We are grateful to the crew of the Wilderness Explorer for reporting the entanglement quickly, and to the Alaska Whale Foundation for a professional response,” NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator Jim Balsiger said in a prepared statement.
A group of whales were spotted bubble-net feeding that night in the area of the Wilderness Explorer, anchored near Holkham Bay south of Juneau. According to vessel crews, one of these animals struck boat, wrapping an anchor chain around its dorsal fin in the process. As the whale turned, the chain wrapped around its head and jaw.
NOAA learned of the entanglement just before 3 a.m. and alerted agency experts at the Alaska Large Whale Entanglement Response Network. Humpback whale researcher Fred Sharpe mobilized his vessel the Baranof Warm Springs and had a team on scene late Sunday morning. Sharpe was joined by NOAA Enforcement Officer Bob Marvelle and NOAA whale expert John Moran.
The crew used a camera on a long pole to determine the position of the estimated 50-foot chain, cutting it close to the vessel at about 2 p.m. Sunday. After initially staying near the surface, the whale was seen swimming rapidly away. NOAA response crews believe the whale was able to free itself after being separated from the boat. The animal was last sighted a half mile from the Wilderness Explorer and hasn’t been seen since.
The Wilderness Explorer sailed to Petersburg for repairs. A salvage crew will return to the area to recover the lost anchor and line.
The response team stayed in the area for another hour but did not relocate the whale.
