VIDEO: B.C. whale watching captain sounds alarm for tangled humpback calf
Published 3:42 pm Monday, August 10, 2026
A tangled humpback calf is swimming free thanks to a Victoria whale watching company.
An Eagle Wing Tours captain first spotted the calf tangled in fishing gear Aug. 6, travelling with its mother, known as Tempest, near the south coast of Vancouver Island.
After reporting the sighting to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Eagle Wing Tours vessel and its 12 guests stayed on the scene, monitoring the two whales at a distance until a Straitwatch support boat arrived.
“It’s critical in entanglement situations that a boat stay near the entangled whale so that the rescue team doesn’t waste valuable time trying to relocate them,” explains an Eagle Wing Tours social media post. “It’s also critical that no attempt be made by untrained individuals to cut off the lines or floats – it’s complex, dangerous work and it can actually make things worse for the whale.”
The whale watching company said its vessel, manned by captain Lili, spent almost two hours in the area.
“At times honking her horn in frustration as several private boaters drove at speed over or near the whales,” they said.
Working with Cetus Research & Conservation Society and NOAA Fisheries West Coast, the DFO’s Marine Mammal Rescue team worked to disentangle the calf.
“The team worked late into the evening tracking the whales as they swam back and forth between Canadian and U.S. waters until the gear could be successfully removed,” said a DFO social media post.
For the Eagle Wing captain and her guests, the experience was one they won’t forget any time soon.
“Our guests were super helpful,” said Eagle Wing captain Lili. “They understood we had to stay for the health of the calf and were very supportive. It was a total group effort.”
Eagle Wing Tours was one of many Greater Victoria whale watching companies that worked together to help locate another tangled humpback, known as Pop Tart, for the DFO in early July.
According to the Pacific Whale Watch Association, entanglement in fishing gear is one of the greatest threats to humpback whales, not just in the Salish Sea, but globally.
Which is why, as well as reporting whales in distress, whale watching companies also do their bit to clean up the sea where possible.
Just 10 minutes prior to spotting Tempest’s tangled calf, Eagle Wing Tours says its captain Lili pulled a clump of derelict fishing gear from the water.
If you see a marine mammal travelling with buoys or lines wrapped over or trailing behind it, the DFO says to give it space.
“Do not attempt to remove the gear or equipment,” they said. “Report it right away so that trained experts can respond.”
For more information, visit: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/mammals-mammiferes/report-rapport.