HONOLULU — Coast Guard crews on Friday assisted members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in tracking an entangled whale calf 28 miles southwest of O'ahu.

The master of a fishing vessel initially spotted the entangled whale calf and called the Coast Guard at approximately 12:30 p.m.

A rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Barbers Point was first on scene and provided aerial support.

Crew members aboard the Coast Guard cutter Ahi transported a NOAA team to the location of the entangled whale calf about 2:45 p.m.

The NOAA team attached a satellite-tracking buoy to the debris the whale calf was tangled in and plans to free the whale from the debris today.

"We accomplished what we set out to do today thanks to the help of the Coast Guard cutter Ahi crew," said David Schofield, a NOAA Fisheries Pacific Island Region Marine Mammal Response Coordinator.

The Ahi is an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Honolulu.