Dramatic footage captures moment Sea World team free entangled whale caught in net off Qld coast

News.com.au

a day ago

The dramatic moment a whale entangled in fishing nets off the coast of Queensland was rescued has been caught on tape.
The Sea World Rescue Team was dispatched after receiving reports from a ferry trawling near North Stradbroke Island, off the Queensland coast, that a whale had become entangled in buoys and ropes.
Footage shows the 8m humpback whale showing obvious signs of distress as it thrashes and repeatedly breaches the water while rescuers deliberate on how to assist the creature.
In the dramatic footage, the rescue team drives right up alongside the whale as they attempt to use hooks and other tools to dislodge the various pieces of equipment attached to it.
Sea World Foundation Head of Marine Science Wayne Phillips said it was 'a privilege' to be at the scene when rescuers were able to free the enormous creature from its restraints.
'The cutting team did an amazing job releasing the whale as quickly as they could,' Mr Phillips said.
'Two simple cuts – there was one cut on some rope that was draped across the right side of the tail fluke, and then a final cut right at the tip of the left side of the tail fluke, and then the animal was free,' he said.
Marine Mammal Specialist Benjamin Markham said seeing the whale happily swim off was 'incredible'.
'Seeing him swim off with his pecks nice and wide and his tail moving freely was very rewarding,' Mr Markham said.
'We did start to see some sort of infiltration on the right hand side of the tail fluke, where that rope was hanging out … I think we got it just in time. Any longer and we certainly would have seen a bit more damage.'
The team has engaged in two 'mobile disentanglements' this migration season, and with more whales expected to head up the coast, Phillips says there is a high likelihood the team will encounter more creatures 'with gear on them'.
'Our rescue team remains on standby to assist.'