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Bigger boats, more nets, people converge for new B.C. orca rescue attempt

Second attempt to help orphan get back to the open ocean could happen at any time
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Ehattesaht Chief Simon John uses a contour map of the Espinosa Inlet to talk about a two-year-old female orca calf stranded in a lagoon in the area where her pregnant mother died nearly four weeks ago, during a meeting at the Ehattesaht First Nation’s band office, in Zeballos, B.C., Thursday, April 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

A large seine fishing vessel capable of casting a net strong enough to hold a nearly 700-kilogram killer whale calf has arrived in Zeballos, B.C., to participate in the latest attempt to rescue the young orca stranded in a remote tidal lagoon.

The flat-bottom aluminum vessel has a built-in crane-like device for lifting heavy nets, and it’s expected to be deployed as part of a rescue effort that could happen any day now in the lagoon on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island.

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