NOAA Fisheries Image Gallery

Working to Meet the Soviet Ice Breaker

Picture by: Dave Withrow Picture taken on: February 1st, 1988

Tags: Alaska operation breakthrough gray whale ice

Rescuers continue to work, cutting air holes for the whales, while the soviet ice-breaker slowly meets them with a clear channel to open water. In 1988, three gray whales were trapped by sea ice outside Barrow, Alaska. This event inspired a new film called Big Miracle, which was released in February 2012. This photo was scanned from slides at the National Marine Mammal Lab in Seattle.

Related Story: Working to Meet the Soviet Ice Breaker