12/12/2017
A gray whale off of the Newport Harbor in Southern California was found entangled in a pink small-mesh gillnet of unknown origin, according to a statement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Responders from the Orange County Large Whale Entanglement Response ...
A 30-foot gray whale seen by paddle boarders Monday morning entangled in colored netting around its tail was freed Tuesday. The whale was spotted near Crystal Cove, then moved north toward Newport Beach. The whale had a gill net on its tail. Witnesses said it was dragging about 150 feet of rope.
The whale twisted and turned, Monday, spinning on the ocean surface and swimming under the small boat as rescuers tried to get a handle on gillnet gear wrapped around its tail. “We don't know exactly what's on it. We made a number of cuts on (the gillnet), the whale was really challenging,” said ...
12/11/2017
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center of Laguna Beach worked until sunset Monday near the Wedge in Newport Beach to try to free a 30-foot gray whale tangled in a net. After nearly three hours, crews suspended the effort Monday evening.
Leslie Evarts saw the gray whale in the distance from her Laguna Beach home, grabbed her stand-up paddleboard and rushed out to the water, with hopes of seeing the 30-foot sea creature up close. But Evarts and another paddler, Cindy Simonson, realized something was strange — there was a rope ...