N.B. rescue team frees entangled whale

A New Brunswick-based whale rescue team has freed an entangled humpback whale calf in the group’s first emergency response since one of its members died during a rescue last year.

According to a Facebook post from the Marine Animal Response Society, the Campobello Whale Rescue Team carried out the rescue on Saturday in the Bay of Fundy just off of Brier Island, N.S.

The whale reportedly had lines wrapped around its head, and it took the rescue team more than four hours to disentangle the calf.

An expedition led by Newfoundland and Labrador marine researchers hopes to shed light on the darkest, unseen depths of the Labrador Sea.

The initiative, funded by the federal Fisheries Department, is setting out in a few weeks on its second of three research expeditions to assess the unique ecosystem found between 500 and 3,000 metres below the surface.

Scientists will study a wide cross-section of marine life — An expedition led by Newfoundland and Labrador marine researchers intends to shed light on the darkest, unseen depths of the Labrador Sea. A specimen from last year’s expedition is shown in a handout photo.

including coral and sponges, invertebrates, fish and plankton, seabirds and marine mammals using remotely operated cameras and underwater audio recording devices.

The findings will be used to inform decision-making around any future industrial expansion into the Labrador Sea, as well as to study potential future impacts of climate change.