♥ Humpback whale and her calf seen in distress off Treasure Coast...

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First spotted on March 7th near St. Augustine, the whale was last seen on Friday about a mile off Government Cut near Miami Beach. The adult humpback whale has a rope wrapped around its head and dangling from the rope is a large anchor or grappling hook, according to a charter captain who spotted the whale off St. Lucie County. The adult whale wasn't alone. There was also a calf.

Blair Mase, a regional stranding coordinator with NOAA, the entanglement is life threatening.

The U.S. Coast Guard is asking boaters report any sightings of the whale off South Florida by giving them a call at (305) 415-6800 or contacting a special NOAA hotline at 1-866-755-NOAA (6622).

Humpback whale and her calf seen in distress off Treasure Coast

By Ed Killer
March 19, 2010

Capt. Patrick Price of Daymaker charters out of Four Fish Marina in Jensen Beach and his clients saw an unusual site while fishing offshore Friday morning. They saw an estimated 10-foot long mako shark leaping out of the water.

Upon closer inspection, as they moved closer to try to catch the mako, they saw a humpback whale calf and an adult humpback, and a hammerhead shark below it. Then the adult whale began greyhounding away while Price maneuvered his 40-foot fishing boat to keep the shark away from the young whale. Price said the adult whale was in obvious distress.

"It has polypropylene rope wrapped around its head and pectoral fin and its attached to an anchor," said Price at 2:30 p.m. Friday while still on the water. "The whale was jumping and we could see the line all wrapped around it."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the highly trained U.S. Coast Guard and The Border Patrol are assisting the whale.

At 2:30 p.m., Price's reported position was at 27 06.3 latitude and 79 56.7 longitude. The whole entourage is traveling at 3 knots on a heading of 140 degrees.

At 2:45 p.m., as sea conditions worsened, FWC biologist on hand called off any attempt to rescue, disentangle or tag the whale for fear on injuring it any further. All federal and state officials that were assisting the whale's rescue left the scene and Price headed back to port as well.

NOAA whale scientist Jamison Smith said that if boaters see the whale or any whale in distress over the weekend, call 866-755-6622. A team of biologists well trained in handling whale entanglements is standing by ready to respond.

Jamison said that the FWC staff that responded to the call was not trained to handle the whale, but reported very important information back to NOAA officials. The nearest team to respond to Friday's call was at sea off the coast of St. Augustine working with right whales at the time of Price's report.

The first encounter with the whales was in about 260 feet of water. Then the action moved inshore to as shallow as 130 feet of water before drifting offshore into deeper water again.

Price said he and his crew saw and heard the large whale breach - many times - and from the distance they saw a large pod of about 100 dolphins approach them. The dolphins encircle the whale, Price said, to buffer the whale from his own boat and the sharks that were in the area. The dolphins escorted the whale for over an hour until Price saw another large splash on the horizon a mile to the south and the whole pod of dolphins headed in that direction.

"It's in pretty bad shape," he said.

"It has polypropylene rope wrapped around its head and pectoral fin and its attached to an anchor," said Price at 2:30 p.m. Friday while still on the water. "The whale was jumping and we could see the line all wrapped around it."

At 2:30 p.m., Price's reported position was at 27 06.3 latitude and 79 56.7 longitude. The whole entourage is traveling at 3 knots on a heading of 140 degrees.

At 2:45 p.m., Price called to say the FWC had called off any attempt to rescue, disentangle or tag the whale. All federal and state officials that were assisting the whale's rescue left the scene and Price began to head back to port as well, but not happy.

"The Captain reported: I'm pretty "#%^#...." (upset) and so are my clients," Captain Price said: "They said over the VHF radio that they were unable to get close enough to the whale to tag it. I offered to do it for them so at least they could try to help the whale Saturday. It's hurt pretty bad. You can see the rope cutting into the whale's flesh around its head.

I can't believe they asked us to stay with the whale for four hours and then after they were there for just 20 minutes, they called it off". The dolphins stayed the course.
http://EcoDelMar.org/alert

Reported by: Ed Killer/Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
Article: wptv.com Whale & calf in distress off Florida's East Coast
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NOAA LINK: NOAA WEBSITE AND CONTACT FOR UPDATES:
Stranding and Entanglement Hotline: (978) 281-9351.
NOAA Large Whale Entanglement Hotline: (866) 755-6622.
Jamison Smith, East Coast Disentanglement Coordinator
Phone: (978) 281-9336; Fax: (978) 281-9394
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Florida Stranding Hotline: 888-404-FWCC (3922)
JENSEN BEACH — Boaters off Florida’s Atlantic coast are asked to call wildlife officials if they spot a humpback whale tangled in a rope attached to an anchor.
The whale and a calf were spotted Friday morning by a fishing charter boat. Capt. Patrick Price said the rope was wrapped around the whale’s head and a fin. Price said the marine mammals was “in pretty bad shape.”
NOAA whale scientist Jamison Smith says boaters should call (866) 755-6622 if they spot the whale. A team of biologists trained to handle whale entanglements is standing by ready to respond.
March 22, 11:00 Several small watercraft are in the area, searching for the entagled whale and her calf...
March 22, 14:00 UPDATE - SEARCH CALLED OFF TILL NEW SIGHTINGS BY LOCALS IN THE OCEAN: via email from NOAA: "Because of the animal being free-swimming and the fact that historically, humpbacks in this area are transiting along the coast from the winter calving grounds off Dominican Republic and the summer feeding grounds in New England/Gulf of Maine area, it most likely could be many miles away already from the observed location on Friday. We typically conduct a directed search for the animal within the next 24-48 hours after the original sighting and then rely heavily on opportunistic sightings by recreational and commercial vessels since these individuals are on the water almost every good weather day. We have trained and authorized teams all up and down the Atlantic coast who have the proper equipment and training to respond if and when these type of cases are observed. Hopefully this animal will be sighted soon and we can help it out of its current situation." ...

UPDATE tcpalm.com/news/2010/mar/23/entangled-humpback-sighted-monday-singer-island
According to Jamison Smith, a fisherman who was offshore of Singer Island saw the whale entangled in gear Monday afternoon. At about 10 p.m., Smith received a call from the fisherman's girlfriend who said the whale came near his boat and he could clearly see the gear wrapped around the whale...
http://EcoDelMar.org/alert
Smith said that if boaters see the whale or any whale in distress over the weekend, call 866-755-6622. A team of biologists well trained in handling whale entanglements is standing by ready to respond.
"We want to remind the public these animals are very large and can be very dangerous," Smith said. "They don't know you are there trying to help. People should never attempt to disentangle a whale."
If the whale is seen and verified as entangled, a rescue team will be dispatched to attempt to remove the gear from the whale. Smith said the process is successful about 90 percent of the time.
A Notice to Mariners has been broadcast by the U.S. Coast Guard over the VHF radio airwaves Tuesday morning.

MARCH 26 2010
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UPDATE ON BISCAYNE BAY: There's a rare sight for spectators on the coast of South Florida. A humpback whale, (obviously in distress), this time video taped near Bear Cut in Biscayne Bay.

Human observers say the whale is seeking help. So far, we have arranged for safety equipment to take HD videos of the struggling whale, with sharks circling, yet we can no longer can get a video of the whale's younger calf that was observed a week ago near the bleeding, struggling humpback.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, who received numerous calls about this "whale entangled in a rope with an anchor" or grappling hook attached to it.

The highly trained US Coast Guard and well prepared Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Boating Crew are already in the vicinity of the whale and sharks. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologist is also heading to the scene.

"NOAA is also sending a biologist to re-assessing the condition of the animal now," said Liz Crapo, spokes-woman for NOAA Fisheries Services.

This is the same whale spotted swimming near St. Lucie County. At that time, the adult humpback whale had a rope wrapped around its head and dangling from the rope was a large (200 lb) anchor or grappling hook, according to another fisherman who also photographed the whale.

And this adult mother whale wasn't alone. A young calf was reported by the observers at that time... others say it was probably just a shark.

http://EcoDelMar.org/alert

MORE UPDATE LINKS:
Hardy Jones informative updates
CBS4.com/local/Whale.humpback
CBS4 VIDEO ( 1.5 min: news spot )
CBS4 VIDEO ( 11.5 minutes: whale video )
justnews.com
blogs.miaminewtimes.com
justnews.com/video/
FACEBOOK "CLOSE-UP" PHOTOS

Mar 31, 2010!
Hope Lives :-)
~~~~~~~~~
This update just came in from NOAA
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from Jamison.Smith@noaa.gov
to Larry@EcoDelMar.org
date Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 1:05 PM
subject: Entangled Whale Florida's East Coast

We have re-positioned specialty tags down in Miami and St. Augustine in case the animal is re-sighted so that we can deploy a tag and track the animal more effectively to prepare equipment and trained personnel to disentangle the animal. The USCG has been conducting flights in the Miami area since yesterday and plan on continuing these flights until tomorrow searching for the animal. We also have daily aerial surveys from St. Augustine to southern Georgia searching for right whales that have been requested to keep an eye out for this animal. The last confirmed sighting of the animal was Friday, March 26, 2010 off Miami and the animal could easily be a hundred or more miles away from that area by now.

Jamison Smith
Large Whale Disentanglement Coordinator
U.S. Dept. of Commerce/NOAA/NMFS
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930
United States of America
Office: (978) 281-9336
Fax: (978) 281-9394
E-Mail: Jamison.Smith@noaa.gov
MARINE ANIMAL ENTANGLEMENT HOTLINE: 1-866-755-NOAA (6622)

CoastalStudies.org/whale-rescue

IMHO:

Each of us can do something... and it's going to take "all lot of us" sharing and working cooperatively to save this Blue Planet from the careless industrial strength greed that has a rope around Mother's Nature neck and an anchor attached... please help keep this Mother Whale's call for Life and justice in the news so that she is never forgotten... and whenever that highly trained super Entanglement Rescue Team arrives... may they cut those ropes swift and safe... not just for a happy ending... but also that our own human awareness to protect Life is strengthened enough to stop industrial dumping of trash and toxic chemicals into the Oceans killing Live on Earth to save money... http://EcoDelMar.org/alert

"It is not the great things you do that matter... but the small things you do with great heart." --Mother Teresa
thanks ♥ everyone! ♥ for helping to keep her Alive!, this Whale's Tenacity to Live really strikes a chord in ALL of us! ... did you see the close-up photos on FB and the NEWS ... looks like it's gonna be a tuff call for the rescue team... still no word yet of a tracking device being placed... i think everyone is sending Lots of Love ♥ Energy to this Whale! because she keeps on swimming for her Life to avoid the sharks... it is so unusual and amazing that she made it all the way down to Biscayne Bay! near where the original Flipper was trained!... could she know where she was going for help!?... salmon sure know where they are going... unfortunately several boats just followed her back out to sea... now they will have to re-locate her... i am posting all the updates/photos/video links that i get on: http://EcoDelMar.org/alert

NOTE: all of my photos, videos, links and info are released freely for anyone to share and promote Ocean awareness... No Blue... No Green... and vica-versa :-) EcoDelMar.org/maya ...The EGO may take you "far"... but it's really alone... Spirit will take you everywhere... Now... Together... With Love... Sharing... This is the truest lesson of all the great teachers... Following the Ego got all the "successful" where we are today... environmental collapse with no True Love for Nature... The Spirit Shares as it protects the environment... Did you think the flowers were yours to keep... Share to Know the beauty in the flower you are...

Thank you Veralynne :-) ♥ "Everything we can do for our fellow beings will help all of us and the other beings. Will the circle be unbroken" ♥

UPDATE: Search for whale reported tangled in ropes...
Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:39 a.m.
could it be...

Whale rescuers are preparing for a dangerous mission off the Far North Coast today to free a whale tangled in ropes - if they can find it.

The 7m humpback whale was spotted by a boatie off Doubtless Bay on the east coast about 11:30am yesterday. The rope was wrapped around its head and tail and the Department of Conservation (DOC) sent a boat and aircraft out at first light to hunt for it.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Search-for-whale-reported-tangled-in-rope/tabid/1160/articleID/178469/Default.aspx

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 8:43 a.m.

Department of Conservation (DOC) staff locate the entangled whale... alive

LINK: http://www.3news.co.nz/DOC-locates-entangled-whale/tabid/1160/articleID/178672/Default.aspx

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 5:33 p.m.

Second whale resue postponed...

LINK: http://www.3news.co.nz/Second-whale-resue-postponed/tabid/423/articleID/179041/Default.aspx