July 18, 2019 — After several beachgoers attempted to free a humpback whale entangled in a fishing net off Town Line Beach in Sagaponack on Monday, the whale, which had been trapped for hours 75 feet from shore, ultimately freed itself as the Coast Guard and Southampton bay constables looked on.
The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society said late Monday that the whale was no longer sighted in the area. Rachel Bosworth, a spokeswoman, expressed concern that it might still have been entangled in gear, but on Tuesday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said it had concluded it might still have been the whale was no longer encumbered by remnants of the net.
“Once the whale was able to free itself, the gear was evaluated to determine if any portions of the net or line was missing, and if the whale was possibly still entangled,” said Stephanie Rekemeyer of the D.E.C.’s division of marine resources. “After review of the gear, it was determined the weak link of the gear broke away as designed, and the whale was free of any remaining entanglement.”
The whale was one of many seen off the coast in recent weeks. “There have been an abundance of whales cruising our beaches, feeding on bunker, giving nice picture ops, and this one was swimming along approaching this set of gill nets and it got stuck,” said Matt Heckman, who was at the beach, a regular fishing spot for him, when he saw the whale. He alerted the Southampton Town police, and the Coast Guard, he said.