Rescuers free trapped gray whale in northern Washington

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (KOMO) — Rescuers are working to free a gray whale caught in a derelict fishing net in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Port Angeles.

The state Department of Natural Resources tweeted Friday that the trapped whale was spotted by the agency's geoduck dive crews on Friday morning.

Crews worked with the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA’s West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network to free the whale.

Studies have found that derelict fishing gear, including nets, kills thousands of animals each year in Northwest waters, including fish, crabs, birds, seals and other marine mammals.