At least eleven whales were released from fishing nets during the recently concluded whale watching season, which is recorded every winter on beaches in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima.
This fact was pointed out by Astrid Frisch, National Coordinator of the Network of Assistance to Meshed Whales (RABEN), when asked about the program that seeks to free large marine mammals that are trapped in fishing nets.
The biologist reported that in addition to RABEN Vallarta, they worked in coordination with other groups from different locations on the Pacific coast in order to save cetaceans.
“We have attended so far eleven reports of entangled whales, some cases were shared, one case was shared with the RABEN team in San Blas and another case was shared with the RABEN team in Manzanillo.”
The coordinator said she was happy and thanked all those who supported, firstly, in locating any enmeshed whale and secondly the surveillance that was given to the animal, until the group arrived.
“We had a very high percentage of successes in the rescues this season and also thanks to the fact that the fleet participated, both tourists and whale watchers, everyone participated reporting appropriately and supporting us not to lose the sight of the animals”.
Astrid Frisch added that the participation of the rest of the citizens, was seen in the success of RABEN, by releasing more than a dozen of the whales, although she indicated that the work is still ongoing, since there are still some whales with their young in the bay.
The whale-watching permit season occurred on December 8 and ended on March 23, although some mother whales still continue to teach their young to swim to migrate to the north of the American continent.
