The rescued humpback had been spotted in the Strait of Georgia on June 11 with crab lines wrapped around its pectoral and dorsal fins.
A humpback whale entangled in fishing gear was tracked for four days by the navy and DFO before finally being freed from ropes and floats.
The rescued humpback, identified as a three-year-old known as Artemis, was spotted in the Strait of Georgia on June 11 with crab lines wrapped around its pectoral and dorsal fins.
Royal Canadian Navy members aboard the Canadian Forces auxiliary vessel Stikine first identified the entangled whale while at the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges.
The navy team teamed up with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ Marine Mammal Rescue Unit to locate, assess and track the whale.
The rescue team worked from a rigid-hulled inflatable on the complex task of cutting the whale free over the following days.
On June 14, Artemis was successfully freed from all remaining ropes.
The navy said in a statement that the operation highlights the importance of vigilance on the water and strong partnerships in protecting marine wildlife.
Whale entanglements in fishing gear have become increasingly common as the humpback population continues to rebound in the Salish Sea.
DFO estimates that between 600,000 and 800,000 metric tonnes of fishing gear is lost or cut loose to avoid fines for illegal fishing in the oceans every year.