{"id":70819,"date":"2024-03-13T15:16:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T15:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/new-oceana-whales-in-crisis-psa-campaign-featuring-cobie-smulders-calls-for-saving-whales-from-deadly-fishing-gear-entanglements-off-u-s-west-coast\/"},"modified":"2024-03-13T15:16:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T15:16:06","slug":"new-oceana-whales-in-crisis-psa-campaign-featuring-cobie-smulders-calls-for-saving-whales-from-deadly-fishing-gear-entanglements-off-u-s-west-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/new-oceana-whales-in-crisis-psa-campaign-featuring-cobie-smulders-calls-for-saving-whales-from-deadly-fishing-gear-entanglements-off-u-s-west-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"New Oceana \u201cWhales in Crisis\u201d PSA Campaign Featuring Cobie Smulders Calls for Saving Whales from Deadly Fishing Gear Entanglements off U.S. West Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LOS ANGELES, March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Oceana launched a new \u201cWhales in Crisis\u201d public service announcement<\/a> (PSA) campaign today featuring actress Cobie Smulders that calls on decision-makers to do more to save whales from deadly entanglements in fishing gear off the West Coast of the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce caught, these whales struggle to eat and even reach the surface to breathe,\u201d Smulders says in the PSA. \u201cThe lines cut into their flesh leading to life threatening infection and disease. But it doesn\u2019t have to be this way. Help Oceana save whales in crisis. Together we can ensure these majestic creatures swim free.\u201d \u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Entanglement in fishing gear is a top threat to endangered animals off the West Coast, including humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles. While most of these deadly entanglements go undetected, 27 whales were confirmed entangled in fishing gear off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington in 2023, five of which were humpback whales entangled in California commercial Dungeness crab gear. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among the animals impacted by these fisheries is the severely entangled humpback whale featured in Oceana\u2019s new \u201cWhales in Crisis\u201d campaign. Underwater photographer Alvaro Herrero encountered the whale off the coast of Baja California last November.<\/p>\n

Herrero vividly remembers the interaction. \u201cThe whale was looking at me with sadness in its eyes like \u2018why me, why this,\u2019\u201d said Herrero. \u201cThe whale was covered in millions of sea lice, its spine was bent, and its tail was rotting off, the smell was immense. This image represents what we\u2019re doing to the oceans. I hope it\u2019s a wakeup call.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Herrero\u2019s colleagues were able to free the whale from the fishing line wound tightly around its tail, the whale\u2019s injuries were deadly. Based on information retrieved from the gear tag, the National Marine Fisheries Service confirmed that the entanglement was the result of fishing lines from the lucrative California commercial Dungeness crab fishery. According to government estimates, roughly 75% of reported whale entanglements result in death.<\/p>\n