A humpback whale calf was freed from fishing gear following a multi-agency rescue off southern Vancouver Island last week. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says its Marine Mammal Rescue team worked alongside the Cetus Research & Conservation Society and NOAA Fisheries West Coast to free the young whale on Thursday. The calf was travelling with its mother, a humpback known as Tempest, or BCX0837, when the pair was spotted by the crew of an Eagle Wing Whale Watching tour vessel. Eagle Wing says the boat’s captain was operating the tour when she noticed the calf tangled in fishing gear. The company says the encounter came just 10 minutes after its crew had picked up a clump of derelict fishing gear from the water.