Entangled whale proving elusive

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

MA'ALAEA, Maui — Boaters are being advised to keep an eye out for a humpback whale — possibly two — entangled in a white rope.

The animal gave the slip to a flotilla of rescuers after being spotted yesterday morning by the crews aboard two whale-watch vessels a half-mile off Olowalu.

David Mattila, a whale rescue expert working with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in Kihei, said he received a call from a boat captain at about 11 a.m. describing "a tangled-up mess of white line on the midsection of a whale.''

A second boat reported the entanglement, but described two whales tied together, a mother and calf, he said.

After consulting with the National Marine Fisheries Services, Mattila, who is director of whale rescue for the Center for Coastal Studies in New England, was assigned to take charge of the search and, if the whale was found, to assess the chances for rescue.

He was accompanied by state aquatics officials aboard a 25-foot Coast Guard boat stationed at Ma'alaea. A couple dozen whale-watch boats and research vessels joined the effort, but after several hours, the search was called off.

"Somehow, it gave the people the slip,'' Mattila said. "That can happen very easily.''

The National Marine Fisheries Service is asking boaters to immediately radio in a report if the entangled whale is seen. The agency's reporting hot line is (888) 256-9840.

Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or 244-4880.