Humpback whale and its calf seen in distress off Treasure Coast (So sad)

[Donna]

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/mar/19/humpback-whale-and-its-calf-are-distress-treasure-/

Not sure why they turned away!

[Bird Crazy]

way I read it the sea was getting rough. I hope someone sees them again and can help the whale. 

[Donna]

In a way, Jamison Smith feels a little like Captain Ahab.

Except instead of a white whale, Smith is trying to find one that is gray and happens to be wearing a rope with a large grappling hook attached to its end.

An adult humpback whale sighted Friday morning by a Jensen Beach charter boat skipper was observed breaching and swimming in apparent distress offshore of the St. Lucie Inlet.

Upon closer examination, Daymaker charters Capt. Patrick Price saw a 1-2 inch thick polypropylene rope wrapped around the head of the whale. Dangling from the rope was a very large anchor or snatch hook.

As the whale jumped and twisted in the air, the line wrapped more tightly around the whale’s body and the large hook eventually appeared to lodge itself on the animal’s right pectoral fin.

Due to unsteady sea conditions and a lack of qualified personnel trained in handling a whale in distress, an attempt to aid or attach a satellite tag into the injured whale was called off Friday afternoon.

Since then, federal officials have hoped boaters or low-flying aircraft might see the whale.

Two humpback whales were sighted Saturday off St. Lucie County by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, however, both animals appeared to be in good health and were not entangled, said Smith, large whale disentanglement coordinator for the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration.

He said the whale of concern could be anywhere at sea.

“Now it’s like looking for a needle in a field full of haystacks,� he said. Smith said a team of specialists trained in disentangling level four whales such as humpbacks was on standby Saturday in Fort Pierce, but is now back in St. Augustine awaiting a call they hope comes soon.

Smith said the whale may be traveling back to the north. Some humpbacks spend the winter off the coast of Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic where they will calf, or bear young. Then the whales travel to the waters off New England and Canada where they feed on coldwater fish species such as herring.

Smith said that the whale could have traveled 20 to 50 miles a day since it was seen Friday. Near Cape Canaveral, migrating whales generally head farther offshore. The entangled whale may next be seen off Cape Cod, he said.

Caption: Photo provided by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office The Sheriff’s Office monitored the humpback whale over the weekend that has been seen in distress off the Treasure Coast.