Saving whales © Courtesy of Whale Release and Strandings
By Allie Murray
For those who live along the coastal waters of Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador, spotting a whale or other marine life trapped in fishing nets or stranded on the shoreline is more common than you’d think. And, when encountering a stuck animal, most people don’t know what to do—either putting themselves at risk by trying to free the animal themselves or simply leaving the animal in distress. But one local organization is striving to change this.
Getting their start at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, in the ’80s, Wayne Ledwell and Julie Huntington didn’t set out to study whales. At first, they wanted to help fishermen who would get a whale caught in their nets and didn’t know what to do with it—Wayne, who came from a fishing community, and Julie, who had vast knowledge in fishing nets, thought their expertise could be beneficial. Their journey with marine life rescue transitioned from the university to the Canadian Coast Guard, and then in 2001, Julie and Wayne took the initiative themselves, and Whale Release and Strandings was born.
“We’ve been to every community in Newfoundland disentangling whales and many in Labrador, and we’ve been doing it much the same as when we started in the ’80s,” Julie explained. “We use tools that were developed in the ’80s and have changed shape over the years and we find them very successful.”
Saving Whales
Having completed thousands of successful disentanglements across the province in the last 30 years, Julie and Wayne have become experts in the field—striving to educate both the public and fishermen about what to do when they encounter a trapped animal.
“Every entanglement is different,” Julie said. “And that’s the problem with people who aren’t officially involved in disentanglement and they want to be helpful. They’ll cut something and they don’t know that they’ve left all of this gear on the whale.”
The most important thing, Julie noted, is to call them as soon as possible. Once they receive a call about an animal in distress, they will ask some questions about the nature of the entrapment while they prepare to make the trek to wherever the animal is and begin the rescue.
If you encounter an entangled or stranded whale, Julie offers four helpful tips:
- Remember, these are wild animals, and to use caution around them
- Do not try to disentangle the whale yourself
- Do not attempt to move large whales
- If possible, take photos of the animal and include an object in the photo for scale to help determine the size of the animal
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In addition to their rescue work, Whale Release and Strandings is involved in research projects where they take samples from stranded animals to send back to the Marine Mammal Section of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to better understand the wildlife in the ocean. Similarly, they do educational work in the community by visiting coastal schools to educate youth about marine life, the importance of taking care of our oceans, and to encourage them to connect with the outdoors.
These educational efforts work to not only raise awareness, but also foster a deep sense of responsibility and connection between people and the environment. By engaging with the community, Whale Release and Strandings encourages a focus on a more balanced approach to interacting with nature. This balance, as Julie emphasized, is key to preserving marine life while still allowing for sustainable practices.
“It’s important to learn about the ocean and our whole environmental connectivity,” Julie shared. “We can still fish, but we can also make sure that the environment is safe for the animals in the ocean.”
