A rescue crew was rushing to free a whale that became entangled in a lobster net in the waters off Newport Beach.
The whale was spotted Friday morning a mile off Balboa Pier, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.
Drone footage showed the whale was entangled near its fluke, said Capt. Dave Anderson, owner of a whale-watching charter service.
Rescuers were able to cut off much of the net, and plan to return Saturday to completely free the whale.
They believe the whale was one that was first spotted off the coast of Carpinteria several days ago, and people in the whale-watching community have been looking for it ever since.
