A team of federal, state and nonprofit marine mammal experts managed to free a critically endangered right whale this weekend off the Florida coast after it became tangled in fishing lines during its annual migration along the Eastern seaboard.

The three-day effort, which involved land, air and sea support from six institutions, succeeded in rescuing a whale from a species that now numbers only 300 to 400. North Atlantic right whales -- which float after being harpooned, earning them the reputation centuries ago of being the "right" whale to kill -- have seen their numbers plummet in part because they often become ensnared in fishing gear or are struck by ships as they travel up and down the East Coast.

"It's a great day in the world of right whales," said Jamison Smith, large whale disentanglement coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service. "When you have this small a population, every animal counts."