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American Morning

Risky Mission to Save Endangered Whale Gets Under Way

Aired June 25, 2001 - 11:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A risky operation is getting under way off the coast of Massachusetts. Marine scientists are hoping to rescue an endangered whale that is entangled in fishing line. If the mission isn't a success, the animal will die.

We get more now on the story from reporter Jeff Derderian with our affiliate WHDH.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF DERDERIAN, WHDH REPORTER (voice-over): Alone and sick, this male right whale lumbers through the waves of the Atlantic 75 miles from shore. One of only 300 in the world, the whale is trying to fight off a huge infection around its mouth and head after some thick rope got tangled in its jaw.

SCOTT LANDRY, CENTER FOR COASTAL STUDIES: Yes, I'll show you some of the gear that we use to work on a whale.

DERDERIAN: Scott Landry is with the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown. A risky and difficult surgery at sea that has never been done before is now being considered.

LANDRY: In this instance, we can't see the line because it is actually inside the whale's head. The infection is so massive, we can't even see the rope to cut. So we have to basically find a way of stopping the whale.

DERDERIAN: If all goes well, the crew then may try putting a surgical instrument at the end of something like a fishing pole and operating at sea.

(on camera): This is the boat right here that researchers will go out on. It will take them four to five hours to get to the location. Once they are there, they'll be gone for at least three to four days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we pulled ourselves right up behind the tail and we dropped...

DERDERIAN (voice-over): The crew is getting ready. Yes, that's a helmet. The right whale, despite needing help, won't welcome it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they are being followed by us, they can get really aggressive towards us.

DERDERIAN: A satellite tracking system keeps an eye on the whale's location. Researchers hope time and luck are on their side. A lot of help too late is not what's needed here to try and save a whale that is so big, but so alone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, joining us now on the phone from Provincetown, Massachusetts with more on this rescue effort is Teri Frady. She is with the National Marine Fisheries Services.

Can you tell us exactly right now where that whale is?

TERI FRADY, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICES: I wish I could.

What we have is the most recent satellite track, which puts it a little bit south and east of a position last night. If you were to imagine the arm of Cape Cod -- which most people are familiar with Cape Cod looking like an arm, like someone showing off their muscle -- and if you went right out from the forearm due east and a little bit south, it's pretty much out in that area from the last satellite fix.

HARRIS: Has anything like this ever been attempted before: an operation at sea on an animal in the water?

FRADY: Well, we have done a number of disentanglements -- that is, approaching the animal and being able to slow it enough to remove some line from it. What distinguishes this one is that the entanglement around what's called the rostrum or the upper jaw appears to be quite tight. So it is not thought that this line will move by itself.

So the idea is that we would have to get close enough around this area that -- it is quite a serious wound -- appears to be very deep -- probably infected -- to be able to make sure that the line that's cinched around this rostrum is free on either side so that, through its own healing process and through its own diving and swimming, the line could work itself out.

HARRIS: So does this require at all -- I guess I'm trying to get an idea in my mind -- when I hear surgery and I hear that idea, in my mind, I'm seeing you cutting someone or something open here. Will it require much of that at all on this creature?

FRADY: I would say that it's not a question whether it would require that; it's whether or not we would actually be able to do such a thing. I mean, you have to keep in mind that this is a 50 foot, probably 50 ton whale. They're quite massive, extremely powerful -- pound for pound, probably the most powerful whale that we get in these waters. And they're very unpredictable.

So we don't, under any circumstances, imagine that we are going to be able to approach the whale and actually try to cut the line within the wound.

HARRIS: Got you.

FRADY: The more likely thing is that we will free the line on either side and allow it to free itself. And by actually trying to pull the line out, we might actually do more damage.

HARRIS: Really?

FRADY: One thing that we are considering that is, again, unique to this particular operation is that, in addition to the usual disentanglement techniques, we will be -- we are considering and prepared to use a tail harness to help restrain the animal and also perhaps a sedative, which would be new for a disentanglement attempt.

HARRIS: Well, and that -- that brings up the question, I mean, you mentioned these different things -- and, of course, the fact this is a big hulking animal here -- what is the danger level for the people who are going to be out there on the water trying to accomplish all this?

FRADY: Well, it is quite dangerous for the people. And we are fortunate that we have a very well-trained and experienced team here in the East Coast that are centered at the Center for Coastal Studies here in Provincetown.

They have actually pioneered a lot of the techniques for removing line like this at sea. So we're fortunate that we have them here. They're very experienced. But they're certainly aware of the dangers. And that is why we didn't believe there was much else we could do for this particular whale when we first sighted it back on the 9th of June and were able to get close, unless we were able to add some restraint in so that the people would be safer and also so that the whale itself would be safer.

HARRIS: And if you can't get this line out, then what? What happens?

FRADY: Well, the veterinarians believe -- and we've consulted quite a few people who work with large whales and other kinds of cetaceans -- they certainly believe this is a very serious injury. There is a lot of concern as to whether or not there is infection in the bone at this point.

No one is really sure how involved the soft palate might be, which is a very vascular area and important to the whale. The upper jaw is what actually holds the baleen in place. This is a plankton- feeding whale. And there are many closely-spaced plates, which, if you could just imagine, they're almost -- it is almost sort of like a fingernail, if you will.

And they're hanging in the upper jaw. So this whale clearly could not live if the rostrums were amputated by this line.

HARRIS: Wow, you've got a tough couple of days ahead of you. As I understand, it's going to take at least about three or four days to get this done, correct? FRADY: Perhaps. We are out there today. And we're certainly hopeful that we are going to be able to go out. There has been some change in the line. We are able to see from aerial photographs the line has slipped some.

We don't know exactly what that means for the wound itself and the most desperate injury that we have. But we won't know until we get there. They left around 6:00 this morning. I don't anticipate that they will be on scene before maybe another five -- five or six hours from there. So I really don't expect to see them again until 9:00 tonight.

With luck, we should get a call around 6:00 to kind of see where they are and what has happened.

HARRIS: Well, we are going to keep in touch with you because we want to see how this all turns out. This is an incredible mission.

Teri Frady, good luck to you and the folks you're working with out there off of Cape Cod in trying to rescue that whale.

We will continue to follow that story, folks, and bring you any developments once we learn of it right here.

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