Researchers end effort to rescue right whale

By Peter Dykstra CNN Environmental Producer

OFF CAPE COD, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Citing bad weather and the long odds of a successful rescue, researchers Wednesday announced they were abandoning efforts to rescue an injured northern right whale.

Scott Smullen of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told CNN the rescuers would not resume their daily trips Thursday.

The whale -- a breeding-age male -- is now 100 miles off Cape Cod and moving away from shore. That distance is the farthest that rescue vessels could operate effectively, he said.

Spotter planes -- sent out on a regular basis to monitor the endangered whales -- will continue to attempt to track the whale, and researchers will continue to perfect their rescue methods, he said. But unless the whale makes a U-turn back toward land, it's unlikely that any other rescue efforts could take place, Smullen said.

VIDEO CNN's Bill Delaney reports on efforts to save a right whale entangled in heavy fishing line off Cape Cod (June 26) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   ON THE SCENE Natalie Pawekski: Saving the right whale

A break in high seas and foggy weather Wednesday offered researchers a better look at the whale's wound from a heavy fishing line entangled in his mouth.

"The wound is deeper and wider (than we thought). There is a lot more cyamid (whale parasites) coverage in the area, and we felt like the wound was much worse at this point." said Teri Rowles, the NOAA veterinarian in charge of the rescue.

Researchers enjoyed mild success in an effort to cut off a 35-foot portion of the fishing gear dangling from the whales' jaw. But a large portion of gear remains lodged in the whale's mouth, hampering the animal's ability to feed and likely causing a massive infection. The scientists had speculated that the whale might have a month to live if not helped.

Less successful was an unprecedented at-sea effort to sedate the whale -- essential to allow researchers to safely approach the enormous animal to remove the line. "This is the equivalent of trying to sedate a dinosaur," said veterinarian Larry Dunn of the Mystic Aquarium.

The whale was first spotted earlier this month. Rescue attempts were delayed by poor weather and a lawsuit filed by a Boston environmentalist who said sedating the whale, as scientists had considered, might kill it.

The northern right whale was nearly wiped out by whaling in the 18th and 19th centuries. Only 300 to 350 of the species are believed to remain. The slow-moving whales have been legally protected for nearly 70 years, but they are still at risk from ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.