Marine biologists, Coast Guard members and tour boat operators sprang into action Friday after spotting a humpback whale entangled in rope off the coast of Maui.

The adult male whale, chafed and underweight, was the fourth humpback to be freed from ropes off the Islands since January. Two of the whales were severely malnourished and their chances of survival are considered bleak.

But scientists say the whale rescued Friday looked somewhat healthy.

"He has a good chance of surviving," said Ed Lyman, marine mammal response manager for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

Several tour boat operators spotted the entangled 38-foot humpback in waters off Lahaina about 10:15 a.m. Friday, and kept sight of it after calling the marine mammal rescue hotline and Coast Guard, which deployed a boat from Ma'alaea Harbor. Lyman and his crew were nearby conducting research, and got to the scene quickly.

Tour boat operators who saw the whale said it was evident the rope was taking its toll on the animal. Heavy gauge line was running through the whale's mouth, under its flippers and twisting around its dorsal fin. The line and two buoys trailed for about 50 feet behind the animal, slowing it down considerably and affecting its ability to eat.

"For some reason, the whale swam right under the boat," said Eric Olbrich, captain of the Wiki-Wahine. "You could see the long lines and balls attached."

Freeing the whale from the line was tricky.

Lyman said additional buoys were attached to the whale to slow it down and keep it on the surface. Then, crews came up behind the animal in a soft-bottom inflatable boat and cut the ropes with a knife attached to a pole.

Lyman said the rope and buoys cut from the animal will be analyzed. It is unclear where they came from or whether they are from fishing operations.

Lyman said the whale could have been caught in the ropes for months, and may even have made the trip from Alaska to Hawai'i while entangled.

The rescue took about two hours, and Lyman credited the tour boat operators, Coast Guard and whale disentanglement network with saving the whale.

"It was a great community effort," Lyman said.

The rescue comes just a week after a whale was freed from ropes off Lana'i, and is the fourth whale in Hawaiian waters so far this year to be disentangled from line.

On Feb. 23, the whale off Lana'i was spotted entangled in small gauge line, which trailed some 300 feet behind the whale and was connected to 10-inch trawl buoys.

On Feb. 6, rescuers cut about 300 feet of line from a whale off the Big Island.

The line was wrapped around it mouth and fins. Scientists who helped in the effort said the whale was severely emaciated and not likely to survive.

An entangled whale spotted on Jan. 11 was also not expected to make it.

Rescuers said the whale was found off Maui. Lines were running from its mouth, along the right side of its body and some 130 feet behind the animal.

Crews were unable to remove about 50 feet of line from that whale.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.