Another whale rescued from fishing gear
Julie Hungtington was still out of breath early Friday evening when she spoke to The Telegram.
Just minutes before 5 p.m., she and her husband, Wayne Ledwell, had rescued a humpback whale that had become entangled in crab gear near Harcourt, a small town located northeast of Clarenville, near Random Island.
“The gear was loose and the line was caught in its mouth and fin,” Huntington said.
“It took three hours, but when we got it free, it just took off.”
Huntington said local fishermen and coast guard representatives were nearby, ready to assist if needed.
Huntington and Ledwell are members of the Whale Release and Strandings Group, which works with the Canadian Coast Guard to free large marine mammals caught in fishing nets, trapped in ice and in other precarious positions.
The group produces reports for fishermen across the province about whales and other large marine mammals entangled in fishing ropes and nets.
Huntington and Ledwell have spent years driving across the province to assist fishermen in disentangling whales from fishing gear.
Huntington said it’s been a steady year for whale rescues. Friday’s marks the third this year. The others were in Long Cove, Trinity Bay, and Marticot Island, Placentia Bay.