Whale Watchers Save "Duchess of Anchovy" From Fishing ...

When whale watchers in Monterey Bay spotted a humpback swimming with ropes cutting deep into her tail in late May, they knew she was in trouble.

The massive whale, trailing black and purple ropes and buoys from a Dungeness crab trap, earned the nickname "The Duchess of Anchovy" from the concerned observers. The fishing gear wrapped so tightly around her body that it posed a deadly threat.

But instead of just watching helplessly, the whale watching community became her lifeline. They photographed her, tracked her movements through an online database, and quickly shared every detail with Marine Life Studies and the West Coast Large Whale Entanglement Response Network.

"They provided those photos very quickly to all of us so that we could start to track the whale," said Dr. Julia O'Hern, a senior cetacean scientist at Marine Life Studies. The images helped experts monitor the whale's health changes during her weeks-long ordeal.

Poor weather initially prevented rescue attempts, but whale watchers never stopped looking. When they spotted The Duchess again in late June and then July 11 near Moss Landing, responders were ready to act.

The rescue itself required patience and precision. The humpback dove and sped up, trying to escape what she perceived as predators. The team attached five large floating plastic balls to slow her down and keep her near the surface.

Using a GoPro camera to see underwater and a knife on a long pole, rescuers made three careful cuts about 14 miles west of Moss Landing. At first, nothing happened.

Then came the moment of pure joy. "As we began to move up the working line that connected us to the whale, there was a short little pop in the line and the rest of the gear slowly fell off," said Scott Benson, a retired NOAA Fisheries scientist on the team. "Disappointment turned to elation in a matter of seconds."

The Ripple Effect

The rescue showcases how everyday people can make extraordinary differences. Whale watching captains and naturalists had joined Marine Life Studies training sessions, preparing for exactly this kind of emergency.

"We could not do it without them," said Peggy Stap, founder and executive director at Marine Life Studies. Their commitment transformed tourists into trained observers who could spot trouble and document it properly.

The collaboration continues even after the rescue. Whale watchers photographed The Duchess feeding with other humpbacks the very next day, and they keep sending photos documenting her wound healing and body condition recovery.

The recovered fishing gear is now helping NOAA Fisheries investigate when and where it was set, information that could prevent future entanglements. New California rules requiring color-coded fishing gear made identifying the trap's origin possible.

The Duchess of Anchovy swims free today because a community refused to look away.