Published • loading... • Updated
Beloved Humpback Pop Tart Freed After Spending 1 Week Caught in Fishing Gear in Salish Sea
A drone confirmed the whale was free after crews from multiple whale-watching companies tracked her for nearly a week.
- On Friday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirmed that Pop Tart, a humpback whale, is swimming free after nearly a week entangled in fishing gear. Whale-watching companies from British Columbia and Washington coordinated the successful search effort.
- The rescue mission launched July 2 when Victoria-based Orca Spirit Adventures spotted the humpback wrapped in a buoy and more than 30 metres of rope. Poor weather initially prevented responders from disentangling the whale that evening.
- Eagle Wing Tours spotted the whale on Wednesday around 11 a.m. near Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. A drone deployed by the DFO Marine Mammal Response Team confirmed the gear was completely removed.
- Pacific Whale Watch Association Executive Director Erin Gless said, "Pop Tart's positive outcome was the result of collaboration between PWWA whale watchers and DFO's trained marine mammal responders." The cross-border effort demonstrated coordinated marine rescue success.
- Entanglement remains a significant global threat to humpback whales, though this success mirrors the June rescue of another humpback, Artemis. Experts note the species' slower swimming speed and lack of echolocation increase vulnerability to gear encounters.
Insights by Ground AI
8 Articles
8 Articles
Peninsula News Review+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
Greater Victoria whale watchers rally to help tangled humpback ‘Pop Tart’
When a humpback whale named Pop Tart found itself in a tangle, Greater Victoria’s whale watching community sprang into action. Identified as the 2016 calf of famed Salish Sea humpback whale Big Mama, Pop Tart spent nearly a week entangled in fishing gear, described as a buoy with a rope more than 30 metres long. The Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) has praised the collaboration between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Marine Mammal Respon…
Beloved humpback whale 'Pop Tart' escapes from tangled fishing gear after a week
KOMO 4 TV provides news, sports, weather and local event coverage in the Seattle, Washington area including Bellevue, Redmond, Renton, Kent, Tacoma, Bremerton, SeaTac, Auburn, Mercer Island, Bothell, Shoreline, Lynnwood, Mill Creek and Everett.
·Seattle, United States
Read Full Article
Coverage Details
Total News Sources8
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Center
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
57% Center
L 43%
C 57%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
