Home / Environment / Whale's Plea: Actress Fights Deadly Fishing Lines
Whale's Plea: Actress Fights Deadly Fishing Lines
10 Nov
Summary
- Oceana launched a campaign in March 2024 featuring Cobie Smulders.
- Entangled whales suffer greatly, facing infection and difficulty breathing.
- Ropeless fishing gear is a proposed innovative solution to protect marine life.
A public service announcement campaign, "Whales in Crisis," launched in March 2024 by Oceana, highlights the urgent threat of whale entanglement in fishing gear along the U.S. West Coast. Actress Cobie Smulders lends her voice to the campaign, emphasizing the suffering of entangled whales, including difficulty breathing and life-threatening infections.
The campaign draws attention to severe cases, such as a humpback whale photographed off Baja California in November 2023, which was freed from California commercial Dungeness crab gear but succumbed to its injuries. Government estimates indicate a roughly 75% death rate for confirmed whale entanglements.
Oceana advocates for solutions like ropeless fishing gear, also known as pop-up or on-demand gear, which eliminates the threat of vertical lines. The organization also calls for stricter fishing zone closures and better marking of gear. In February 2024, Oceana supported California's authorization of new funding for ropeless technology in its Dungeness crab fishery.
