Entanglement in fishing gear is a leading cause of serious injury and death for humpback whales worldwide. The welfare impacts of entanglement — and the rescue interventions designed to help — both carry significant implications for individual whale wellbeing.
Entangled whales experience prolonged suffering that may last weeks. Ropes cutting into tissue cause infection, necrosis, and chronic pain. Animals dragging buoys expend enormous energy that depletes body reserves needed for migration and reproduction. Drowning from line weight preventing surfacing causes acute distress. Rescue operations, while designed to help, involve their own welfare costs — approach by vessels causes stress, and cutting gear from a live whale is inherently risky for both animal and rescuers. Prevention through gear modification is far preferable to rescue. Consumer choices — particularly around lobster, crab, and trap fisheries — can drive adoption of ropeless fishing technology that dramatically reduces entanglement risk.