Underwater photographer noticed a humpback whale acting strange. A close-up made him rush to the phone

John Kowitz, an underwater photographer, is an artistic genius when it comes to capturing sea creatures across different oceans of the world. During one of his voyages across the Hawaiian coast, Kowitz managed to spot two humpback whales. Instead of marveling at their beauty, he was actually shocked and distressed to see one of them caught in fishing gear.

John noticed the lines and chains tangled in the whale’s head after he launched his drone to capture images of the majestic sea animal. Wanting to help, John and the ship's captain immediately notified the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) authorities, so they could provide aid with the right equipment. He noted that the gear and chains “appeared as if it had been there for quite some time.” The underwater photographer and his team waited two hours for the professionals to arrive from Maui. All this time, they kept a close watch on the whale, both above and underwater.

The rescue process took five hours, and the crew managed to remove 251 feet of line and 10 feet of chain from the whale. Kowitz told My Modern Met, “Unfortunately, we had to get guests back, so we had to leave, but we spoke with the teams after, and they said the whale immediately started swimming faster as soon as all the gear was cut off.” Kowitz also added that an “asymmetrical cut” was made near the mouth of the whale so it could easily shake off the line that was running through its mouth.

John explained how the humpback whale ended up with approximately "320 feet of gear.” The most likely possibility was that the whale swam from Alaska to Hawaii and dragged a few pieces of the fishing equipment from the crab fisheries in Alaska. Regarding the impact of commercial fishing, Kowitz said, “We were overjoyed we could help, but it sad to see the devastating impact commercial fisheries have on the ocean and the beautiful creatures inhabiting it.”

Humpback whales are considered to be the most-watched and the most popular mammals in the world. In a 2015 study done by Thomas et al. on "Status of the world's baleen whales," it states, "Humpback whales may be at risk from a number of threats, including entanglement in fishing gear,  ship strikes, habitat degradation, oil and gas development, and climate change." At one point in time, the humpback whale population had deteriorated to terrifying numbers. The Endangered Species Coalition and the Endangered Species Act revealed, "the current population has rebounded to nearly 80,000 Humpback whales up from a low-point of 10,000 to 15,000."

Kowitz shared the drone video of the humpback whale on his Instagram account. In less than two months, the post has gained 30.3k likes and more than 600 comments. @the.oceanic.eye commented, "What an operation, must have felt amazing to be part of this rescue. Devastating that these instances arise, but it’s beautiful to hear of the teamwork and success story." @susiandres wrote, "This one was lucky… we have to make sure with tougher laws for fishing industry and an innovation of fishing gear material overall that marine life is better protected."

You can follow John Kowitz (@j.kowitz) for more underwater photography content. 

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