Gray Whale Entangled Discovered By Laguna Beach Woman

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — A gray whale in distress was sighted off the Orange County coast on Monday first by a Laguna Beach paddle boarder, then local whale watching vessels and the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Laguna beach resident Leslie Evarts sighted the whale from her Laguna Beach home, according to the Orange County Register. She boarded her stand-up paddleboard aiming to reach the 30-foot marine mammal. Soon, another paddle boarder, Cindy Simonson told her of the whale's struggle, and both saw the ropes and net wrapped and trailing from the whale's fluke.

They told a third paddler, who had a phone and was able to contact authorities for help. Eric Praske called a rescue team while Evarts stayed with the whale until help arrived.

"It was not stopped, but moving right at the side of my board. I was able to get a really good look at it,” she told the Register. Evarts described her interaction with the whale to the Register, saying slid her palm along the whale's fluke, aiming to comfort the leviathan, amazed that the whale was letting her touch it.

Newport Coastal Adventures crew responded to the scene and found the marine mammal in the waters near the Wedge in Newport Beach. They stayed with it for two hours until the NOAA disentanglement crews arrived. The Orange County Sheriff's Department was also on scene during the disentanglement efforts.

"We encountered a Gray Whale off Newport Beach which was severely entangled by a gillnet, a type of commercial fishing gear," Captain Ryan, a spokesperson for Newport Coastal Adventures said over Facebook. "The drone footage we captured was able to help in assessing the appropriate response by the NOAA disentanglement team, and one of our boats "babysat" the whale until help could arrive."

The image of the whale's fluke wrapped in approximately 150 feet of tangling lines was shared across social media.

"We salute the skill and dedication of the NOAA disentanglement team who risked their safety to work on freeing this whale today," Ryan said.

The video of the tangled whale was shared over social media and gleaned national attention by mid-week.

"We want this video to bring awareness to the damage that gillnets can cause to non-target species. A gillnet is termed as an 'indiscriminate' commercial fishing method, meaning there is a high rate of by-catch and damage caused to animals not being targeted. It has no place in today's oceans and most applications should be banned," Ryan said.

Local vessels take the disentanglement of marine wildlife seriously.

"Disentanglement of whales may only be performed by a federally permitted team. It's extremely dangerous to approach an entangled whale as they may often be dragging lines and net far behind the animal," they said. "This whale had 150 feet of line trailing behind it. If you see a tangled whale call the Coast Guard or NOAA hotline; do not attempt it yourself."

According to a report from the Orange County Register, in 2016, 71 whales were caught up off the West Coast after being tangled in lobster and crab trapping lines as well as other fishing lines. Of those entanglements, 66 were seen off the California coast, including 13 in Southern California. The West Coast figure is the highest since NOAA fisheries started keeping records in 1982, and up from 62 in 2015.

Report entangled marine mammals by calling 877-SOS-WHALE (877-767-9425), or vessels can hail the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Ch. 16.

Newport Beach Coastal Adventures, Captain Ryan Drone Photo, used with permission.