Sunset Beach : Officials Find Owner of Net Entangled on Whale

Investigators have identified the owner of a gill net that entangled a gray whale discovered dead on Sunset Beach Wednesday, but the owner’s name is being withheld pending further investigation, Special Agent George Marshall of the National Marine Fisheries Service said Thursday.

Snagging a gray whale is a violation of the federal Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and constitutes a felony with a maximum penalty of $10,000 and up to a year in jail, Marshall said.

However, the net owner will probably face “very little” in the way of punitive action, he said. “It’s analogous to a whale coming up and hitting a boat--there are just two ‘user’ groups out there in conflict with each other.”

The whale, between 20 and 25 feet long, was swimming in the area several weeks after the usual migrating season ended, marine biologist Jim Lecky said. It was first sighted Monday near White’s Point, wrapped in a fisherman’s net.

The cause or exact time of the whale’s death has not been determined, but Lecky said whales trapped in nets usually die from exhaustion rather than drowning.

“They just trail the nets until they don’t have strength any more,” he said.

Investigators took tissue samples of the whale Thursday to determine the cause of death and check for pesticide contamination, Lecky said.

He said 16 whales have been stranded on Southern California beaches since November, and seven of those were tangled in gill nets, which must be marked by identification numbers.

He said the nets “aren’t very selective” about what they catch, and frequently net sea lions, sea otters and diving marine birds as well.