LA PUSH, Wash. — Crews freed a juvenile gray whale of the fishing gear it was entangled in, but the long-term prognosis isn’t good.
The Coast Guard and NOAA responded to reports of the entangled whale in the waters off La Push on Tuesday, and continued working to release it over a couple days.
NOAA believes the weighted fishing gear had been on the whale for up to a month leaving deep cuts, infection and deteriorating skin and tail flukes.
Crews say the whale may have suffered long-term or permanent damage, and due to its serious injuries, may not survive.
Photos courtesy of NOAA Fisheries.