The West Coast is cheering its local boating community that teamed up to help rescue a beloved mother humpback whale known regionally as 含羞草研究社楶inky含羞草研究社� last week.
The popular humpback has been freed of her entanglement and is now ready to head to her Hawaiian breeding grounds alongside her calf.
含羞草研究社淥nce I heard that she had been freed of her entanglement, I felt a lot of relief, a lot of joy and also a lot of pride for the local community,含羞草研究社� Sydney Dixon told the Westerly News on Sunday. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 such a great community out here of dedicated, hardworking people that really care about these animals, so it felt really good to know that the community coming together resulted in a happy ending.含羞草研究社�
Dixon is the research and education director for Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society and also a zodiac skipper for Jamie含羞草研究社檚 Whaling Station. She was onboard a Jamie含羞草研究社檚 zodiac when she first spotted the distressed humpback struggling alongside a calf on Oct. 7.
含羞草研究社淚 noticed her and her calf were really sticking to the shallows and she was trailing a float,含羞草研究社� Dixon said, adding that if she had not seen the float, she might never have known Pinky needed help.
含羞草研究社淯nless you see a float or visible entanglement, it can be really hard to just know from behaviour that a whale is in fact entangled,含羞草研究社� she said.
She immediately reported her sighting to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and stayed with the whale until a DFO team arrived.
She said the DFO team was unable to get a tracking tag onto Pinky before the sun went down and lost sight of both her and her calf in the darkness.
含羞草研究社淭he next morning, there was a massive relocation effort to try to find her,含羞草研究社� Dixon said, adding the search party included SIMRS, Jamie含羞草研究社檚, Subtidal Adventures, RCMP and DFO. 含羞草研究社淎 big fleet of us went out and spread out over Barkley Sound to try to relocate this whale.含羞草研究社�
She said the team was unable to relocate Pinky for two days and their stress magnified as the search wore on.
含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檚 definitely a lot of anxiety when you see an animal that you含羞草研究社檙e emotionally attached to in distress, and frustration I would say as well with the entanglement and with fishing gear an issue for these animals,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚 was really worried that we weren含羞草研究社檛 going to be able to re-sight her.含羞草研究社�
Dixon was elated to hear Pinky had been relocated and freed of any visible entanglements on Friday, Oct. 15 and she touted the local whale watching community含羞草研究社檚 efforts to rally around and rescue the animal.
含羞草研究社淚t takes a village. There are so many people out there that really care about these animals and having trained eyes on the water that know what to look for, know how to identify whales, know their behaviour and really care about them is really beneficial,含羞草研究社� she said.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 a huge ocean out there. It would be a very daunting task for just (DFO) alone to have to canvas this huge area and look for this whale.含羞草研究社�
Pinky is a popular staple on the West Coast含羞草研究社檚 whale roster as she reliably returns to Barkley Sound every summer to feed and Dixon noted the urgency of her rescue was intensified as searchers feared her migration to Hawaii could be delayed, or prevented altogether.
含羞草研究社淭ime was really of the essence for us to try and relocate this animal because now is the time where they will start their migration back to the breeding grounds,含羞草研究社� she said.
Dixon hopes the incident serves as a reminder to always be responsible with fishing gear, noting that roughly 50 per cent of British Columbia含羞草研究社檚 humpback population bears scarring from entanglements.
含羞草研究社淔ishing is obviously culturally and economically really important in our area, but the gear can be a big issue for whales,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淭ake responsibility for your gear. Anything you put in the ocean should be responsibly taken out of the ocean when you含羞草研究社檙e done using it because, if it含羞草研究社檚 not, it can turn into a really big problem for the animals that call that space home.含羞草研究社�
Anyone who spots a whale in distress is urged to immediately contact DFO含羞草研究社檚 marine mammal response network at
Dixon stressed that no one should ever try to disentangle any marine mammal themselves.
含羞草研究社淚f you cut off the visible entanglement that含羞草研究社檚 at the surface, you could actually end up signing that whale含羞草研究社檚 death certificate because it would be much, much, harder for professionals to then relocate that whale and identify it as an entangled individual,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 really important to let the experts and the professionals do that work for both the safety of the whale and yourself.含羞草研究社�
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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