HONOLULU -- For the second time this whale season, teams had to rescue a humpback from ocean debris in Hawaiian waters.

The Hawaiian Islands Whale Disentanglement Network removed more than 300 feet of line that was wrapped around and trailing the whale.

Rescuers caught up with the whale Sunday in waters off west Maui. The female whale was first spotted more than a month ago off the Big Island with line cutting into her flesh and trailing behind her.

"It was 1-inch thick. It weighed about 100 pounds. It was a little over 360 feet in length," said David Schofield, of the Marine Mammal Response Network.

Less than a month ago, the network of responders saved another whale from a slow death due to entanglement.

"It's an alarming trend to see two and we're basically in the middle of whale season," Schofield said.

Marine debris is a huge problem for sea life. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency's fisheries division and its partners removed more than 550 tons of debris from the Northwest Hawaiian Islands in the past 10 years. Officials said it's a continuing problem.

NOAA urges boaters to call its hotline if an entangled whale is spotted at 888-256-9840.