Long Beach Gray Whale rescued from fishing net found dead

Mar 28, 2012

A juvenile gray whale found dead inside Long Beach Harbor on Tuesday afternoon probably is the same whale that was

freed from a fishing net off Dana Point on Saturday evening.

Monica DeAngelis, a biologist with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, could not confirm this as fact but said that the dead whale, which was towed to sea by lifeguards on Tuesday afternoon, had similar wounds to its tail section.

It also was towing a small piece of black rope, similar to the piece of rope rescuers were unable to cut loose.

About 40 miles separates Dana Point and Long Beach.

“It’s probable but it might also be another whale, because we do have a lot of whales that get caught in gear,” DeAngelis said. “However, this whale was skinny and so was the whale in Dana Point.”

– Images show gray whale after being freed (top) and probably the same whale after it had washed into Long Beach Harbor. Credit: Mike Johnson and NOAA Fisheries, respectively

Photographs of the dead whale were taken when the cetacean was upside down, so it’s difficult to match them with photos taken during the rescue effort, DeAngelis added. There is a size estimate discrepancy: The dead whale measured about 20 feet, while rescuers estimated the length of the animal they freed at closer to 30 feet.

It’s hoped that DNA samples collected from the dead whale will provide more information, but the biologist said there was no viable DNA from the fishing net collected by rescuers.

The gray whale was discovered with a large and heavy mass of gill-net tangled around its tail, or fluke area, last Friday afternoon. A trained disentanglement team worked all day Saturday to remove the netting, which contained a dead sea lion and dead sharks.

The effort was led by Dave Anderson of

Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safari. The whale was given the name “Bart” in honor of Peter Bartholomew, who stayed with the cetacean throughout Friday night, so rescuers would be able to locate the mammal and begin work Saturday morning.

The story received widespread news coverage and Anderson on Wednesday said this is a positive story regardless of whether the dead whale was Bart.

“Even if it is Bart — and I’m not convinced that it is — the good news is that because of the story, so many people now know that millions of dolphins and whales are killed by this type of fishing gear. So the whale’s life will not have been for nothing.”

Gray whales, many of them mothers with calves, are migrating from Baja California breeding grounds to Arctic feeding grounds.

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Dramatic 24-hour Gray Whale Rescue, Laguna Beach Ca.
To Animals-Pets on Tuesday, March 27, 2012