Maine lobstermen free juvenile humpback whale entangled in lost fishing gear
Three commercial lobster fishermen operating in foggy waters off Bar Harbor, Maine, successfully freed an endangered juvenile humpback whale anchored to the seafloor by abandoned fishing gear.
The crew spotted unusual water disturbance near their lobster buoys, discovering a thirty-foot humpback whale anchored by heavy polypropene ropes wrapped tightly around its tail flukes and pectorals. Realizing the young whale would drown when the incoming tide rose, the fishermen maneuvered their thirty-eight-foot lobster boat alongside the animal, working with long-handled safety cutting hooks to methodically slice the lines.
On September 28, 2026, after ninety minutes of careful cutting, the final rope severed and the freed humpback breached completely clear of the water before swimming into open bay waters. "We could see the distress in her eyes, and watching her swim away free under the blue sky was the proudest moment of our careers," the boat captain said. Coastal whale-watching vessels spotted the healthy juvenile feeding normally two hours later.
Marine rescue authorities commended the crew for their skillful actions and distributed specialized line-cutting knives to twenty additional lobster boats in the fleet to support future disentanglement efforts.
An endangered marine animal survives a life-threatening entanglement through the courageous, immediate rescue by coastal fishermen.
Source: Bar Harbor Lobstermen Rescue Entangled Humpback Whale (Bangor Daily News / Maine Lobstermen's Association).
Written by the HappyGood desk from the primary source linked above and checked against it. Every story links its source. Corrections: [email protected].
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