NEED TO KNOW
-
A young humpback whale has died nearly two days after it was discovered trapped in an entanglement of crab pot line on the Oregon Coast
-
At the time, dozens of bystanders attempted to rescue the creature amid powerful waves and freezing cold waters
-
“The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission must adopt stronger conservation measures to reduce whale entanglements in the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery,” Oceana Fisheries Campaign Director Ben Enticknap insisted in a statement
A young humpback whale has died nearly two days after it was discovered trapped in an engagement of crab pot line on the Oregon Coast.
On Nov. 15, TikTok creator Jacob Colvin shared a video documenting the frantic efforts of dozens of bystanders to save the 6,000-pound animal that had become stranded amid freezing and powerful surf.
“When I got on scene, there were about 20 people next to the whale,” Colvin told PEOPLE at the time. “They had a rope tied to the whale’s tail and a line of people pulling the rope, while a group of people were pushing the whale’s head. They were trying to rotate the whale so that it would face outward towards the ocean.”
Oregon State Parks Facebook
Humpback whale stranded on Oregon Coast
Despite the community’s tireless efforts to rescue the juvenile creature amid extremely dangerous conditions, the humpback was euthanized around 3 p.m. on Nov. 17 because, as a spokesperson for the Hatfield Marine Science Center told Oregon news outlet KGW8, it was highly unlikely the whale would survive until the next high tide.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Following the whale’s tragic death, Oceana Fisheries Campaign Director Ben Enticknap expressed that the incident served as a “painful reminder of a preventable problem: entanglement in fishing gear.”
“Despite steps to reduce the amount of commercial crab gear and close certain areas off Oregon in the late spring and summer, too many whales continue to get entangled and die,” he explained in a statement to PEOPLE. “The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission must adopt stronger conservation measures to reduce whale entanglements in the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery and incentivize the use of whale-safe pop-up fishing gear, which keeps the lines and buoys on the seafloor until fishermen are ready to retrieve the gear.”
Jacob Colvin
Humpback whale stranded on Oregon Coast
Enticknap went on to state that entanglements in Oregon are at record levels. At the time of the incident, there had already been three entanglements following another three in 2024.
As fishermen, manufacturers, and state wildlife officials embrace this gear innovation, the National Marine Fisheries Service and Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission must take stronger action to protect threatened and endangered whales,” Enticknap continued.
Colvin shared the news of the whale’s passing with his followers on Nov. 17.
Read the original article on People
