More whales are getting tangled in fishing gear and shark nets. Here’s what we can do

Pacific Whale Foundation, CC BY

This year’s whale season offered spectacular encounters with these majestic giants as thousands of whales migrated along Australia’s east coast.

But behind the scenes, Australian scientists have noticed a troubling rise in the number of whales caught and tangled in ropes, nets and fishing lines. We documented 48 separate entanglements of humpback whales in the past few months on the east coast. This follows last year’s estimate of 45 entangled whales.