Humpback whale caught in fishing line in Hawaii, rescuers cut line wrapped around mouth and flipper

The young humpback whale had about 30 metres of line entangled in its mouth and flipper. Photo / NOAA

A young humpback whale swimming off the Hawaiian island of Maui has been freed of about 30m of line entangled in its mouth and flipper.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary coordinated the effort in partnership with local businesses and organisations, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on Wednesday (Thursday NZT).

On Tuesday, the team cut off line that was wrapped around the whale's flipper and trailing about 15m behind it. Some of the line entangled in the whale's mouth was unable to be removed, officials said.

"When the flipper came free, the whale sped up, its tail got higher and it started moving better," said Ed Lyman, the sanctuary's natural resource management specialist.

Crew aboard the research and response vessel Aloha Kai watch over the entangled whale off the Hawaiian island of Maui on March 9. Photo / NOAA

"All that was promising. We were defeated on the mouth again. We pulled, but you can't pull too hard."

Lyman said the juvenile whale was not in very good condition. It was emaciated and had patches of whale lice.

More than 30m of line was removed. Lyman believes it was the same whale reported to be entangled about a month ago in the same area. His team was unable to find the whale at that time.

"We definitely helped it, and increased its chances of survival. But it's worse off than we thought."

Lyman said people should report any whale entanglements sightings to authorities and should not try to help the whales themselves.