A rapid response by San Juan County’s trained whale entanglement response team and newly established cross-border protocol helped ensure a humpback whale began her annual migration to Hawaii free of more than 140 feet of fishing gear. Just days earlier, local responders trained for this exact scenario with one of Cascadia’s advanced responders.
On November 17, mariner Nick Radonski spotted the whale, locally known as Eugenia, near Waldron Island, WA, trailing a buoy as she traveled with another humpback. Radonski immediately contacted the NOAA Marine Mammal Entanglement Hotline and stayed at a safe distance until trained responders arrived.
Teams from The Whale Museum and SeaDoc Society quickly launched from San Juan and Orcas Islands, using vessel-based photography and drone footage to document how the gear was attached and to identify the whale. WDFW fisheries officers were nearby and quickly came over to assist, redirecting vessel traffic as the whales swam down San Juan Channel in front of Friday Harbor. The Cogans, who generously donate their time and vessel to assist with responses in the Salish Sea, were also on scene to provide additional safety support and collect further documentation. A full disentanglement was not possible before sunset: Cascadia Research Collective’s advanced responders were assisting agencies with separate incidents in Puget Sound and Oregon.
The Large Whale Entanglement Response Team from San Juan County prepares to attach a telemetry buoy to the entangling gear, allowing responders to track the animal overnight. Images Collected in Partnership with The Whale Museum & SeaDoc Society, Permit #24359.
The Large Whale Entanglement Response Team from San Juan County trained with one of Cascadia’s advanced responders in early November. The multi-day training included on-water approaches from R/V Buzzard to attach a telemetry buoy to the entangling gear using a grapple and control line.
Fortunately, the San Juan team had completed their fall training with Cascadia Research Collective only four days earlier, practicing the exact technique needed: attaching a satellite telemetry buoy to the trailing gear. This allows responders to track an entangled whale overnight and return the next day with the specialized crew and tools required for a safe, full disentanglement. This was the team’s third telemetry-assisted response in the Salish Sea this summer.
“We felt better prepared to successfully attach the tracking buoy, having just practiced these skills the week prior,” said Erin Casellas, a responder with The Whale Museum. “This response allowed us to continue to build our team’s experience and communication skills.”
Overnight Movement and Cross-Border Coordination
Throughout the night, Cascadia’s responders checked the buoy’s position. They saw that Eugenia had picked up speed – moving rapidly west down the Strait of Juan de Fuca – looking as if she could be starting her migration to Hawaii and had also entered Canadian waters. Although Canada has its own response team, their lead responder was away. Through a newly established NOAA–DFO protocol, U.S. teams received authorization to continue the operation across the border.
The overnight track of the entangled whale created from hourly GPS positions (orange dots) and more frequent, yet less accurate, satellite positions (blue dots) transmitted from the telemetry buoy the response team attached to the entangling gear on Nov 11.
Before dawn, responders started mustering with Cascadia’s team departing from Port Angeles and The Whale Museum’s team departing from Friday Harbor. Shortly before responders approached the tag’s position, they noticed it had stopped moving westward. It was then unsurprising that they found the buoy floating free, with no whale attached. However, nearby, the team discovered two buoys and more than 140 feet of line, and were able to confirm it was the gear that had been entangling Eugenia. The telemetry buoy had pulled the gear from Eugenia just shortly before the team arrived.
Telemetry buoys are primarily tracking tools, but they have helped free over 20 whales from less complex, yet still lethal, entanglements. In Eugenia’s case, drag from the buoy, and possibly bull kelp pushed by recent king tides, likely pulled the clean end of the line until it slipped through her baleen plates.
The prior day’s documentation showed the buoys only trailed 40 to 50 feet behind her tail with the line appearing to reach forward of her flippers – suggesting a mouth entanglement. Marks on her flippers and flukes indicate that the line from the buoys likely ran up her right side, through her mouth, and then down her left side, ending slightly behind her flukes. The fact that 140 ft of line was collected is an encouraging sign that she is now free of the entanglement, but additional sightings would help determine the extent of her injuries and verify that she is fully gear-free.
Identification and Gear Analysis
Thanks to the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration, researchers confirmed the whale’s identity and that she was last documented gear-free on November 11, indicating a short-term entanglement. The gear’s markings allowed managers to determine it was recreational gear, the second Salish Sea case this summer involving thin line that cuts more easily into whale tissue than line typically used in commercial pot fisheries.
Looking Ahead
We know Eugenia will be heading to Hawaii this winter thanks to HappyWhale, a collaborative project that gathers sightings from researchers, whale-watching organizations, and citizen scientists. You can see the sighting history of Eugenia, known to West Coast researchers as CRC-19234 and BCX1493, by clicking the image.
“Researchers and whale-watch partners in the US and British Columbia will continue scanning local waters, but there’s a good chance we won’t see her again until she’s back from Hawaii next summer,” said Rachel Finn, the Level 3 responder who led the telemetry buoy deployment. “I’m lucky to work in both regions, so in Hawaii this winter, our team will be watching for her. We’re all hoping to confirm she made it safely to the breeding grounds.”
This outcome underscores the importance of rapid reporting, international collaboration, and continued investments in training and safe-response tools. Learn how you can help by visiting organizational websites: NOAA, SeaDoc Society, The Whale Museum, and Cascadia Research Collective.
To report an entangled marine mammal in the US, call NOAA’s Entanglement Reporting Hotline at (877) SOS-WHAL/ (877) 767-9425.
To report an entangled whale in Canadian waters, call DFO’s hotline at (866) I SAW ONE (472-9663).
To report an injured, dead, or stranded marine mammal, contact NOAA’s West Coast Stranding Hotline at (866) 767-6114.
For other incidents or other violations, contact NOAA’s Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964.
The Pacific Northwest Entanglement Large Whale Response Network is part of a national and global effort to reduce large whale entanglements through safe rescue operations, data collection, and prevention strategies. All response activities (including documentation, approaching the whale, attaching a telemetry tag, and removing gear) were conducted by trained and authorized responders under NOAA permit #24359, in accordance with international and national safety standards that prohibit entering the water and prioritize the safety of both the whale and the crew.
Click the button below to read the previous post about our entanglement response for Starry Knight earlier this summer.
