Newport Beach's Tangled Humpback Whale Rescued

A humpback whale entangled in fishing netting off of Newport Beach was the latest victim of what has become an increasing problem for marine mammals -- the lines, nets and buoys fishermen put in the ocean to catch fish, which are entangling sea creatures with greater frequency.

The whale rescue team of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says they’ve responded to some 50 entangled whales since January, NOAA’s Jeremy Viezbicke told the Associated Press.

A team from SeaWorld San Diego and San Diego lifeguards freed the latest victim, a humpback whale first seen in the Santa Barbara Channel Wednesday, ensnared in rope and buoys that involved its mouth and tail.

The same whale was next seen Friday off the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, where rescuers with NOAA cut at least 100 feet of rope and buoy off of it, according to NBC7 San Diego.

However, when the whale became agitated, it dove deep, eluding rescuers for the rest of the day, according to the AP. Rescuers, however, did manage to place a GPS tracking device on the whale.

The whale was next spotted Saturday, off the coast of the La Jolla Shores area, according to the Times of San Diego, where rescuers spent three hours cutting away some 230 feet of line from the whale, leaving a small amount in its mouth.

The freed whale reportedly swam south.

“We hope we gave this whale a second chance at life,” Kelly Terry, a SeaWorld San Diego spokeswoman told the AP.

Said Viezbicke in a Facebook post, “We were able to get some gear I.D info so we will hopefully learn when and approximately where the gear was set, which will help us to learn more about how these whales are getting entangled so we can hopefully work towards a proactive approach to minimize these entanglements in the future.”