Baby sea creature was tangled a month in fishing gear before dying, officials say
.png "Marine workers work to save a baby sea creature that repeatedly got caught in fishing gear.")
Marine workers in Texas worked tirelessly to save a baby sea creature that was tangled in fishing gear for over a month, but unfortunately the calf died.
On June 4, the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network posted on Facebook it was monitoring a young dolphin calf that was tangled in fishing gear off Port Aransas.
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The calf was swimming with its mother, trailing fishing gear after workers were able to partially disentangle it.
On July 3, the organization posted an update saying the calf kept getting caught in fishing gear and the nonprofit, along with other partners, executed multiple rescue efforts to try and help it.
“In a series of coordinated responses, we’ve removed over 15 feet of line, including several hog-ties (line binding the dorsal fin to the tail), and fishing leaders, from the calf, along with the entanglement that caused deep cuts to its dorsal fin,” the post said.
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The calf, which was estimated to be only a few months old, had a high risk of further entanglement because of its injury, inexperience and its feeding habitat being located in a heavily fished area, the organization said.
The team continued to monitor the calf but said in a July 15 update on Facebook that the calf had been observed to be “extensively entangled with an evident decline in body condition.”
The team tried to disentangle the calf again. But the next day, the mother dolphin was seen swimming alone, and someone reported they spotted a dead dolphin calf.
“We were unable to relocate the deceased calf and have had no additional sightings of the pair together since then. Given that this calf and mother had been observed almost daily for weeks, we believe the calf has not survived,” the team said.
The team said it did everything it could to save the calf, but the situation was “incredibly complex.”
“The best and most effective solution will always be prevention through responsible viewing and fishing practices and proper disposal of line and gear. This outcome is heartbreaking for all of us,” the nonprofit said.
Port Aransas is about a 170-mile drive southeast from San Antonio.
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 7:03 AM with the headline "Baby sea creature was tangled a month in fishing gear before dying, officials say."
