HONOLULU -- Teams freed a humpback whale that was tangled in fishing gear near Lanai this weekend.

The whale was first spotted five days ago near Kona. The Hawaiian Marine Mammal Consortium, along with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, attached a VHF tracking buoy to the fishing gear already on the whale. Then on Sunday rescue teams caught up with the whale near Lanai.

Rescuers Edward Lyman and David Mattila worked from a black zodiac as they tried to get fishing gear off the 40-foot whale.

"He was able to assess that the situation was life threatening there was some line trailing out of the whale's mouth 25 feet of line and two buoys," said Naomi McIntosh, of the Humpback Whale Sanctuary.

The delicate operation was similar to one that took place last March off Maui. Rescuers stay in the boat and cut lines with knives attached to poles.

"Because of their size and strength they can cause injury. People in other parts of the world who have gotten in the water and tried to disentangle them have actually been killed," marine mammal response coordinator David Schofield said.

Rescue crews estimate that the fishing gear they took off the whale Sunday weighs about 50 pounds and was causing substantial drag. After the lines were cut off, the crew said the whale appeared to be fine.

"As far as turning around, they don't usually acknowledge the rescuers. They just kind of go on their way, which we are happy to see. It's a good sign to us when that happens," Schofield said.

The rescue was a collaborative effort between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, DLNR and the Whale Disentanglement Network. It was the third entangled whale sighted in Hawaiian waters this year.