BAR HARBOR – A group of Bar Harbor whale watchers took the Save The Whales slogan to heart.

The group of 200 whale watchers helped save a humpback whale that was entangled in fishing gear near the entrance to the Bay of Fundy on June 10.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports the whale watchers and on-board naturalists alerted the Canadian Coast Guard about the distressed animal.

NOAA says the whale watchers were also able to provide whale biologists with information about what they could do to help the whale.

A rescue team freed the whale the next day and it appeared to be in good condition.

The rescued whale is named Hang-glide for dark markings on its tail. Researchers from the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts, named it.

Coincidentally, federal officials on Thursday released new regulations for commercial fishermen designed to reduce the number of whales caught in fishing gear off the Atlantic states.

Officials of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say the measures focus on reducing the number of vertical lines in areas where whales are the most abundant and the lines are most dense. The lines are ropes that connect surface buoys to traps and pots on the ocean floor.

NOAA officials say the rules will help right, humpback, fin and minke whales.

The exact restrictions differ based on whether the gear is located in New England, the mid-Atlantic, or the Southeast.

The regulations take effect Aug. 26 in the mid-Atlantic, Nov. 1 in the Southeast, and June 1, 2015 in New England.