Two Humpback Whales Freed of Entangling Gear off Maui

January 14, 2025

Two humpback whales were recently freed of life-threatening entanglements off the coast of Maui in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in two separate entanglement responses. This brings the total number of humpback whale entanglement cases reported through the Hawaiian Islands Large Whale Entanglement Response Network since mid-December to eight. Information about each entangled whale and the response effort are detailed below.

underwater view of a whale tail entangled in several lines
Underwater image of entangled subadult humpback whale. Photo: Maria Harvey/NOAA MMHSRP (permit # 24359)

Entangled Subadult Humpback: On Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary staff led a team of trained responders to free an entangled subadult humpback whale off of Lahaina. The animal had a life-threatening entanglement of 200 feet of medium gauge line through its mouth and wrapped multiple times around its tail before trailing behind the animal. The severity of the entanglement meant the animal would likely not have been able to free itself.

Maui tour boat operator, Ultimate Whale Watch, reported the animal on the morning of Jan. 8., and the sanctuary team immediately responded aboard their response vessel Koholā, while the West Maui Response team joined them aboard the Ultimate Whale Watch response vessel, Aloha Kai. Upon locating the whale, an inflatable approach boat was launched from Koholā allowing the team to make several cuts to the entangling gear, freeing the animal from all life-threatening lines.

Entangled Adult Humpback: On Thursday morning, Jan. 9, people on shore and flying approved drones along the coastline reported an entangled adult humpback whale off of Kahana, Maui. This second animal also had a mouth entanglement, with three tight, life-threatening wraps of heavier gauge lines around the body, even more wraps around its right pectoral flipper, and no gear trailing. Sanctuary trained responders, with the help of members of the West Maui response team aboard the Ultimate Whale Watch's dedicated research and response vessel, mounted a response effort. The team relocated the whale and removed a significant amount of gear, including all three constricting body wraps, and a single cut to the wraps on the right flipper. However, potentially life-threatening but inaccessible wraps remained around the base of the right flipper.

a splitshot over and underwater image showing a whale entangled in line underwater and scientists wearing hard hats above water on a small boat attempting to free it with a sharp hook.
Trained responder, Maria Harvey, prepares to use a hooked knife at the end of a long pole to make a cut to line entangling the humpback whale. Photo: Ed Lyman/NOAA MMHSRP (permit # 24359)

Scientists confirmed that the recovered gear from both events was from the humpback whales' feeding grounds in Alaska. Scientists will further assess the gear to better understand the source, in order to reduce the threat of future entanglement.

It is illegal to approach a humpback whale closer than 100 yards by any means by sea or drone and closer than 1,000 feet by aircraft. Whale rescue is complex and dangerous for the whale rescuers as well as the animal. Do not try to disentangle a whale yourself. Instead, learn how you can help.

The two successful responses, and their associated science, while led by the sanctuary and coordinated by NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources, also included the expertise and resources of Ultimate Whale Watch's West Maui Response team; Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources; The Whaleman Foundation; University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Marine Mammal Research Program; a number of certified (i.e., Part 107) drone operators; and researchers from the The Dolphin Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the University of Michigan.