A 30-foot humpback whale was spotted swimming in the waters off Miami Beach Friday afternoon and officials are worried it might be tangled up in fishing line.
The whale was spotted swimming Friday afternoon near Bear Cut in Biscayne Bay, with what looked like fishing line or a rope attached to the lower part of its body.
A rope can mean trouble for a humpback like this if it prevents it from consuming the several hundred pounds of food the mammal requires each day.
Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue boats quickly went to the area where the whale was spotted, presumably to keep it safe and keep boats and other watercraft away.
Officials believe the whale may be the same one spotted in netting in Saint Lucie County earlier this week.
A representative with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said they were sending biologists to the scene to observe the whale and possibly free it from whatever it's tangled up in.
"There's not much we can do at this point in time," said Blair Mase with the NOAA. "We have no way to track the whale at this point in time so we are hoping for the best.
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"If it is in distress it will likely show abnormal behavior, it will come closer to shore and we will hopefully be able to do something about it."
