Staff from Fisheries and Oceans Canada worked for six hours on Wednesday, Sept. 24, to successfully free a whale tangled in fishing gear near Nanoose Bay. (Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

six hour rescue

VIDEO: Humpback whale freed from over 450 feet of fishing gear near Nanoose Bay

Sep 25, 2025 | 10:11 AM

NANOOSE BAY — A young humpback whale named ‘Wiggins‘ is swimming a lot more freely after a complicated rescue effort.

Marine mammal rescue crews from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), along with staff from the Victoria-based Whale Protection Unit and Department of National Defence executed a six hour rescue off the coast of Nanoose Bay on Wednesday, Sept. 24, untangling the animal.

A statement from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to NanaimoNewsNOW stated “over 450 feet of rope and gear was removed from the humpback whale during the six hour rescue”.

Video of the operation showed rope and other equipment around the whale, partially obstructing its blow hole.

Wiggins was attached to around 450 feet of fishing gear, ropes and other equipment. (Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

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Wiggins, and his companion Fader, were spotted on Sunday, Sept. 21 by staff on board a Vancouver Island Whale Watch vessel out on the water.

They alerted DFO who dispatched a team to attach a tracking chip to the equipment, however the rescue effort was delayed until more suitable weather conditions materialized.

Staff tracked the animals as they planned the rescue, before finally being able to work alongside the whale throughout much of Wednesday.

“Debris is a real problem for marine wildlife,” the DFO statement read. “The public can help prevent entanglements by cutting packing material, banding, rope and other looped material before disposing of it, and by not be disposing of these materials in the marine environment.”

Those on the water are also required to report any lost gear to DFO through the Fishing Gear Reporting System.

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