September 3, 2026, Seward Folly Staff

A humpback whale tangled in fishing gear has been spotted repeatedly over the past month in the Aialik Bay area, sparking a coordinated effort among Alaska SeaLife Center staff, federal officials, and local mariners to free the animal.

The young whale, described as “smaller” and more prone to staying near shore from the Chiswell Islands north into the fjord, was first reported in late July. Day boat captains and other mariners have called in sightings to the Alaska SeaLife Center, which has worked closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to monitor and attempt to help the animal.

“It’s a humpback whale that’s been seen in the Aialik Bay and Resurrection Bay areas since the beginning of August,” said Kristen Steinmetzer, general curator at the SeaLife Center. “It’s got some gill nets around it and is trailing a few buoys. We’ve been watching it pretty closely and getting calls on our hotline frequently.”

Steinmetzer stressed that disentangling a whale is “very dangerous” and should only be attempted by highly trained responders. “They are very large animals that can dive very deep and are very strong. Disentanglement can get dangerous very quickly. We need to make sure we have the right people here to respond and do it safely.”

An attempt to help the animal was made last week. The response involved a wide array of expertise, including the Alaska SeaLife Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Alaska, and local boat captains. A team of specialists from NOAA, including a responder with level 4 disentanglement training, traveled from Juneau to assist. A marine biologist from the University of Alaska Fairbanks had access to a whale research vessel, and the National Park Service also provided a support vessel.

“About midweek last week, we were able to spot the whale, get a boat, and deploy a satellite tag so we could track its location,”  recounts Steinmetzer. While attempting to relocate the animal using the tracker, things got tricky. “We got a radio call from another local boat captain that they were actually with the whale, which we thought was odd because they were farther north than where we were. We were going to its last known location. It was actually quite further south from where the whale had been spotted. So we quickly turned around and went to where the whale was, so that the tour boat could continue on its way.”

This last statement by Steinmetzer was one of many praising the local professional maritime community that helped throughout August.

“We were able to find the whale and get on top of it. Unfortunately, the chop was high enough that it was just a little bit taller than the whale’s ridge when it dove.” Steinmetzer continued, “The satellite tag had fallen off the whale, which is why it was in a different location than we expected. While we were attempting to respond to the whale, another local boat captain spotted the satellite tag in the area and was able to retrieve it for us, and now we’re back to trying to relocate the whale to deploy it again.”

Weather and geography have complicated the rescue, despite the wide array of help from the community.

“The Gulf of Alaska is not an easy place to do these kinds of operations,” Steinmetzer said. “It’s very hard to keep on top of the whale and not lose sight of it when Alaska’s oceans are very big. Even though it’s a whale, it’s not easy to find — especially one that spends most of its time underwater and hugs the coastlines.”

The entangled whale, while still able to lunge feed, appears to be growing thinner. “It’s definitely impacting its ability to swim and forage. We hope it’s not completely preventing it from feeding, but it does appear to be getting weaker,” Steinmetzer said.

The origin of the net remains unclear. “There’s so much derelict fishing gear down there, it’s hard to say,” Steinmetzer said. 

Disentanglement gear is specialized, expensive, and shared regionally, sometimes requiring responders to bring it from other parts of the state. Actual entanglement cases are not common either.

Steinmetzer explained, “Locally, we get a call for whale disentanglement, maybe once every other year. Those are usually never re-sighted, so we don’t have the opportunity to even mount a response to them. This actually is one of the few cases that we have in our memory that we’ve actually had a whale that’s entangled that has been re-sighted to even try to respond to.” 

Because these things happen so infrequently in this region, it’s challenging to think about keeping a team and supplies here on site that’s fully trained. The training is intense and to be effective must be updated consistently.  

Some area captains have expressed frustration with the slow response. The first sighting was reported July 29; as of August 31, the whale had not yet been freed. Steinmetzer acknowledged the delays: “We’ve been working collectively with local boat captains to respond as best as we can. You have to have the right vessel and the right people. We don’t have boats that can just stay on the whale for long periods while gathering supplies and getting out to it.”

She added, “Everyone, especially the NOAA experts, has commented on how hard this whale is to find. It seems to be a particularly slippery whale.”

Steinmetzer emphasized that the public should not approach or try to free the whale.

“Approaching that whale is not safe for people, and it’s not safe for the whale either. You could easily bump into the whale and cause significant damage, even if you’re trying to help.”

She urged anyone who spots the whale to contact the SeaLife Center’s hotline. “We are doing our best to try to respond to it,” she said. “It’s a community effort, and we really appreciate everyone’s support.”

Alaska SeaLife Center Stranding Hotline: (888) 774-7325

NOAA Fisheries statewide 24-hour stranding hotline: (877) 925-7773 or (877) 9-AKR-PRD