Humpback Whale Rescued Off North Shore: ICYMI

GLOUCESTER, MA — A humpback whale tangled in fishing gear was cut free by rescuers off the coast of Massachusetts Wednesday.

The rescue took over nine hours.

"The whale had a number of twisted ropes, about 1-inch thick, wrapped around the circumference of her body, just behind her head," said the Center for Coastal Studies in a statement.

The Provincetown-based center has an emergency team that frequently frees marine life tangled in discarded fishing gear up and down the Massachusetts coast.

"This collar of line was embedded 3-6 inches deep into blubber and muscle," the center continued. "This rope had become snagged on more fishing gear that was attached to the seafloor, anchoring the whale to a small circle but allowing her to remain at the surface for air.

"The team worked with the whale for over nine hours, eventually freeing her from anchor and severing the collar around her body. The collar however is still deeply embedded in her body. While the prognosis of this whale is now much better, the overall condition is quite poor."

The whale is a 29-year-old female. In 2013, she also got tangled in fishing gear near Nova Scotia but was cut free by another rescue team, the center said.

The rescue team said it did everything it could Wednesday.

“We dulled or broke every knife in our kit and every teammate worked their fingers to the bone for this whale," they said. "Short of removing the 40-ton whale from the ocean and performing surgery, we did everything humanly possible for this animal."

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This story was first published May 19, 2016