Rescuers free humpback whale from 3,000 feet of lost gear, but its jaw may never heal

A team off Oregon spent four days trying to free a young humpback whale tangled in more than 3,000 feet of fishing gear, but NOAA Fisheries said the entanglement likely caused lasting damage. The whale was found about 20 miles offshore from Newport on July 23 and was released from the gear on July 26 by an Oregon response team working with specialists and fisherman Poggy Lapham. OPB reported that the whale’s jaw was left permanently open, which would likely prevent feeding. Responders recovered over 3,000 feet of line plus five sablefish pots and Dungeness crab traps tied to Oregon and Washington. NOAA noted that large-whale entanglements on the West Coast are rising and that many summer humpbacks off Oregon belong to a mainland Mexico population listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.