SEATTLE (AP) — A team of experts trying to free a juvenile humpback whale tangled in crab pot lines off the Washington coast have suspended their efforts for the day.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the team led by Olympia-based Cascadia Research Collective were able to remove lines from the whale’s body and tail Thursday. But the animal’s flipper remains trapped.
NOAA’s Brian Gorman says he wasn’t not sure why the efforts were suspended. He says such rescues typically take two or three days.
The team will make another attempt to free the whale Friday. The Coast Guard is assisting.
A fisherman reported the whale Wednesday about eight miles southwest of Destruction Island.
