Last month, a wildlife photographer named John Kowitz went on a boat ride off the coast of Kona, Hawaii, to capture some drone shots of humpback whales. While he was filming, he noticed one of the whales appeared to be entangled in some fishing equipment.
“The minute I had the drone above the whale, I noticed an extremely long line, probably 150 feet, tangled around the whale,” Kowitz told The Dodo.
John Kowitz
Kowitz’s heart sank. He was worried for the whale’s safety and didn’t know how long the animal would be able to make it while dragging around so much rope.
“I knew that could be a death sentence for a whale,” Kowitz said.
Even though the whale was slowed down by all the fishing gear, Kowitz spotted another humpback who wasn’t leaving the injured animal’s side. Perhaps the other whale was trying to comfort or look out for their struggling friend.
John Kowitz
Kowitz called a local rescue group for help. The rescuers instructed him to take pictures and videos of the whale so they could be prepared when they arrived. Kowitz spent hours documenting the extent of the entanglement and discovered that the line was deeply embedded in the humpback’s head.
“As much as we wanted to help immediately, we lacked the proper tools and training to remove the gear,” Kowitz said.
The rescue team arrived and got straight to work removing the fishing equipment. They used special cutting tools to carefully remove everything that was wrapped around the whale’s body.
John Kowitz
“The entire process took over five hours,” Kowitz said. “They removed over 200 feet of line, fishing gear and chains.”
Unfortunately, this humpback is not the first animal Kowitz has encountered who’s been entangled in fishing gear. Over the years, he’s seen many sharks, turtles and other marine life hurt by discarded equipment.
“We all need to be better stewards of our ocean,” Kowitz said. “Those of us in it every day see the damage commercial fishing, plastic pollution and toxic runoff from land are causing.”
Luckily, though, this particular whale got a second chance at life. Kowitz was relieved to learn that the animal he’d been so concerned about was doing much better thanks to the rescue team’s many hours of hard work.
Getty Images / Marnie Griffiths
“The rescuers said the whale immediately started swimming faster and moving around a lot, like it had a newfound sense of freedom,” Kowitz said.
To keep up with Kowitz’s work, you can check out his website here.
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