Rescuers free entangled right whale

CHARLESTON, S.C., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- After hours of work from an inflatable boat Friday, whale rescuers removed fishing gear wrapped around the head of an endangered right whale off the coast of South Carolina.

The whale had probably been tangled in line and buoys from lobster traps for weeks or months, said Theresa Barbo, communications director for the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Mass. The entanglement was first spotted Dec. 6 off the coast of North Carolina.

The rescue crew spent some time Thursday cutting lines and then spent the night on board the Coast Guard cutter Yellowfin, which had been following the whale.

"It's extremely dangerous work," Barbo said. "The team is exhausted."

Atlantic right whales are one of the largest and rarest animals on earth with a total population of about 300.

The disentanglement was carried out under the supervision of Charles "Stormy" Mayo of the Center for Coastal Studies, one of only three people in the country authorized to carry out difficult right whale rescues. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and researchers from several state agencies and universities have also been involved.

Barbo said that whales of all species are constantly at risk from fishing equipment, but the hazard is especially great for right whales because of their low numbers.

"We're over the moon," she said. "We did not expect a good outcome from this."