It is Gray Whale season along the Coast of North American but unfortunately we are having a banner year for Gray whales being entangled in fishing nets and just yesterday was the third one off the coast of Southern California.
There is now a disentanglement team in Dana Point thanks to the local efforts of some amazing people, they are the very same people who took the nets off of Lily the Gray whale, whom I wrote about two years ago. Lilly did not make it and some believe the nets could have prevented her from being able to feed, since Gray whales, baleen whales, are unique in that they are bottom feeders.
Ellen was yesterday's latest rescue, another victim of yet another danger faced by many cetacean species, entanglement, which for many leads to drowning and in the cause of the Maui dolphin in New Zealand, is leading to their very extinction.
Here is a little snippet from Captain Dave's, a local whale watching company (And one of my family's favorites) recording part of the rescue of Ellen. They are continuing efforts to try to free her today.
Captain Dave was involved in a 3rd gray whale disentanglement today. He is naming the whale âEllenâ, after Ellen Degeneres, who hosted him on her show two weeks ago to get the message out: nearly 1,000 dolphins and whales are dying in nets and fishing gear every day.
The older 40-foot whale was first spotted in Laguna Beach on Tuesday heading south along the coastline.
The animal is towing 50 to 100 feet of fishing line from its left pectoral fin, according to Melissa Sciacca, director of development at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.
Rescuers also found that there was more fishing line entangled in the whale's mouth.
Source
Why she's heading South, they do not know, she should be heading North.
Here is another video of the disentanglement of Bart.
Many thanks to the Ocean Institute, Pacific Marine Mammal Rescue Center and Captain Dave's for their work in helping these amazing animals. All are amazing resources for us here in Southern California and I try to personally support them all.
How you can help:
STEP 1: Help raise awareness on this issue. Share this website and Capt. Dave's new book with family and friends.
STEP 2: Work towards getting all fish labeled including how it was caught and how much by-catch was associated with it. Begin by signing the petition here to get fish labeled.
STEP 3: Ask how fish was caught when you are at a restaurant or in a market.
STEP 4: Make a donation to TheCaretakers.org to help better the lives of whales, dolphins, and people.
Capt. Dave Anderson's new book, 'Lily, A Gray Whaleâs Odyssey' is all about a gray whale that Capt. Dave helped to disentangle and is a scientifically accurate tale with a twist. Visit TalesFromThePod.com to preview and purchase. Half the proceeds are used to feed hungry children and to purchase disentanglement gear.
And from Ellen's website, Help the whales!
Captain Dave Anderson told Ellen about how he saved a whale caught in a fishing net, and now you can help the whales, too! Learn about the effects of fishing nets here, and don't forget to check out Captain Anderson's book right here!
You can also learn more from these amazing organizations:
Cetacean Bycatch Resource Center: http://cetaceanbycatch.org
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch: http://seafoodwatch.org
World Wildlife Fund: http://www.worldwildlife.org
The Whaleman Foundation: http://www.whaleman.org
Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society: http://oceanfutures.org
And how can you help: