Fisherman dies saving whale caught in fishing line
Veteran seaman hit by mammal after it was cut free
CAMPOBELLO ISLAND, N.B.— A lobster fisherman with a passion for freeing whales from deadly fishing lines was killed soon after he cut the last piece of rope from a massive whale in the waters off eastern New Brunswick, friends and colleagues confirmed Tuesday.
They say Joe Howlett had helped rescue about two dozen whales over the past 15 years.
Mackie Green of the Campobello Whale Rescue Team said Howlett had boarded a federal Fisheries Department vessel off Shippagan on Monday to help a North Atlantic right whale that had become entangled in a heavy snarl of rope.
Green was not on the boat, but said he was told the 59-year-old veteran fisherman was hit by the whale just after it was cut free and started swimming away.
“They got the whale totally disentangled and then some kind of freak thing happened and the whale made a big flip,” said Green, who started the rescue team with Howlett in 2002 and had worked closely with him ever since.
“Joe definitely would not want us to stop because of this..”
Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc issued a statement Tuesday offering his sympathies to Howlett’s family and friends.
“We have lost an irreplaceable member of the whale rescue com- munity,” LeBlanc said
“Taking part in whale rescue operations requires immense bravery and a passion for the welfare of marine mammals . . . There are serious risks involved with any disentanglement attempt. Each situation is unique, and entangled whales can be unpredictable.”
The minister confirmed Howlett was working with federal conservation officers and the Canadian Coast Guard. As well, he said Howlett was aboard a smaller “fast response” vessel when the rescue was taking place. But the federal statement offered no other details.