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Watch: Rescue team frees tangled humpback whale in B.C.

The disentanglement took over 50 rope cuts to free the whale of gear and floats.

A team of experienced rescue members spent four days on the water to save a humpback whale in B.C. 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) was notified about a severely entangled humpback whale near Prince Rupert during the first week of September.  

A Marine Mammal Rescue crew found the humpback whale and started the complex operation with the help of Prince Rupert DFO fishery officers.

Members of the rescue made more than 50 rope cuts to disentangle the whale free of the gear and floats.

A video taken by DFO shows the whale struggling to move as rope and buoys are attached to it. Three staff members can be seen working from a boat trying to pull and cut the rope piece by piece beside the massive mammal. 

The rescue was successful and the whale was safely set free. 

Anyone who sees an entangled whale or a collision involving a whale is required by law to report it to DFO at 1-800-465-4336.
 

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