Desperate Sea World rescue crews save a humpback whale spotted dragging an object while tangled up in nets off a popular Gold Coast beach
- Humpback whale entangled in fishing equipment cut free by Sea World crews
- It took six hours to cut the juvenile whale free from ropes and buoys on Monday
- Whale was spotted swimming erratically in waters off Coogee beach on Sunday
- Despite minor injuries to its tail the calf has continued north on migration path
A young humpback whale entangled in fishing equipment has been freed by rescue crews after a dramatic six-hour operation.
The humpback calf was intercepted by Sea World rescue crews off Broadbeach on Queensland’s Gold Coast about 10:30am on Monday.
It’s believed the juvenile whale became entangled in buoys and netting in waters off the NSW coast and had dragged the ropes several hundred kilometres up to the Gold Coast.
Sea World Gold Coast posted a photo of the whale surrounded by emergency crews to their Facebook page and confirmed the young calf had been cut free.
It took Sea World rescue crews six hours to cut away buoys and netting from the juvenile whale, who could have become entangled in the ropes as far south as Tasmania
‘After a six hour rescue operation, the Sea World Rescue team have successfully managed to cut away buoys and netting from a sub-adult whale off the Gold Coast seaway’, the post read.
‘Following the removal of the equipment, the team monitored the whale and it headed north on its migration path.’
Whale researchers have been desperately tracking the whale for over a week, after the calf was sighted offshore from Crescent Head, around 40km north of Port Macquarie, and off the coast at Coogee Beach in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.
The juvenile humpback was spotted swimming erratically at the popular Sydney beach at 4pm on Sunday.
An onlooker standing along the coastline filmed the young whale dragging two white buoys across the surface of the water.
The humpback calf (pictured) was intercepted by Sea World rescue crews off Broadbeach on Queensland’s Gold Coast about 10:30am on Monday
Wayne Phillips, head of marine sciences for Sea World, said the dramatic rescue began in Evans Head, eight hours north of Sydney on Friday.
Mr Phillips said the calf could have become entangled in the fishing ropes as as far south as Tasmania.
He estimated the humpback had been trapped in 200 metres of rope and six buoys on Friday, with rescue crews removing the rest of the equipment on Monday.
‘Today was day three for us to try and help him out,’ Mr Phillips told the ABC.
‘We were able to attach some big buoys to the whale to help slow him down and enabled us the opportunity to cut free the fishing debris.’
Up to 40,000 humpback whales are due to begin heading north along Australia’s east coast from now – migrating to the southern Whitsundays area where they mate and calve
He said that while the whale had received minor injuries from the ropes, it was still swimming strong.
‘A fair bit of damage was done to that tail region,’ he said.
It is understood the whale had been swimming towards Clovelly in Sydney’s east before it became stuck in the netting.
Humpback whales tend to swim up Australia’s eastern coastline during migration season between May and November.
The species numbers are thriving in Australian waters, with around 40,000 whales expected to head north to mate.
Their destinations are thought to be along the Great Barrier Reef, concentrated around the southern Whitsundays area.