SAN JOSE, California - The passengers on the Point Sur Clipper were whale watching in Monterey Bay on April 27. They spotted a humpback. It was 25 feet long. At first, nothing seemed wrong with it.

But it stayed near the surface. Humpbacks feast on krill, a tiny shelled animal. They dive down to feed on the krill. This one didn't.

"It wouldn't fluke up," said Nancy Black, an ocean scientist. She was on board the Point Sur that day. Black was speaking of the tail flip that humpbacks perform before diving to feed. She also noticed several buoys were trailing behind it. Buoys float in the water, marking where fishermen left their traps.

Let's Get This Rescue Started

Black called the U.S. Coast Guard. The whale was caught in a long line that connected to a crab trap. A rescue effort was started. Dozens of volunteers joined in.

Whales were hunted for hundreds of years. Their numbers dropped greatly. Now, the number of whales is climbing again near California. Whale rescues like this one could become more common.

In the past, whales rarely tangled with crab fishing gear. But in recent weeks, four entangled whales were seen on the West Coast. Two were freed. The two others have not been spotted again.

It wasn't easy to free the whale.

That Sunday, the Coast Guard called the Whale Entanglement Team (WET). They are volunteers.

The WET team clipped an electronic tag to the gear already wrapped around the whale. The tag let them follow the whale by satellite in space.

Following The Whale On GPS

The next morning the team found the whale again.

Using poles and knives, the crew removed the crab pot and 300 feet of line. But another 50 feet of line remained wrapped around the whale's tail. The animal dragged several buoys behind it.

The waves grew to 10 feet high. The boats were getting tossed around. It was too dangerous. The crew turned back.

The whale swam south for several days. On May 1, it strayed far offshore.

Seven days later, rescuers drove south. But the high seas made a rescue impossible.

By now, the whale was losing weight. Part of its tail had begun to rot away.

Finally, A Good Day To Finish The Rescue

On May 14, about 20 rescuers gathered near Santa Barbara. They rode in four boats. The water was calm and the whale was close.

Using hooks and knives, the crews worked for over an hour. Finally the last loop was removed.

It had been 17 days since the whale was first spotted. It had swam 700 miles snagged in rope. Now, the whale was free.