(Courtesy/Cascadia Research)A trained responder in an inflatable boat retrieves line from the entangled humpback whale while a local fishing vessel winches in fishing gear anchoring the whale to the bottom. (Courtesy/Cascadia Research)A researcher in a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter first spotted the entangled humpback anchored to the bottom about 20 miles off the Oregon Coast. (Courtesy/Cascadia Research)A young humpback whale was freed from a “severe” entanglement off the Oregon Coast on July 26, but the entanglement left the whale’s jaw permanently open. Another humpback whale washed ashore dead on July 7, entangled by sablefish gear off the Oregon coast. According to NOAA Public Affairs Officer Michael Milstein, the July 26 rescue marked one of three documented whale entanglements off the Oregon Coast in 2026.