Humpback whales have made remarkable recoveries from near-extinction following the whaling moratorium, but entanglement in fishing gear remains a leading cause of injury and death.
Entanglement causes profound and prolonged suffering for humpback whales. Ropes cutting into flesh around flippers or mouths cause infected wounds that worsen over weeks or months. Entangled whales drag heavy gear that restricts swimming, prevents feeding, and exhausts the animal. Some entanglements result in slow starvation; others cause drowning when ropes prevent surfacing. Disentanglement by trained responders is possible but dangerous, time-consuming, and only feasible when entangled whales are located and in accessible waters. Many entangled whales are never found or die before rescue reaches them. The transition to ropeless or weak-link fishing gear in lobster and crab fisheries offers the most promising path to reducing entanglement welfare impacts at scale.