Line snags gray whale off Alaska

By The Associated Press

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

ANCHORAGE — Rescuers searched yesterday for a gray whale calf reported tangled in a line in Southeast Alaska.

The Melanie Noel, a charter whale-watching vessel for Wolf Track Expeditions, based in Gustavus, spotted the whale yesterday morning.

The Melanie Noel reported to Glacier Bay National Park officials that the small whale had line wrapped in its mouth. It was seen near Point Adolphus, south of Glacier Bay on the south side of Icy Strait.

The Park Service alerted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries office.

"The calf appeared to be trailing 75 to 100 feet of yellow line with a small orange buoy," said NOAA fisheries spokeswoman Sheila McLean.

The whale was first reported to be a humpback, but biologists reviewing photographs concluded it was a gray whale.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More local news headlines...