A humpback whale entangled off the NSW South Coast has been successfully freed following a response led by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) with support from Marine Rescue NSW and ORRCA.
The whale was first reported to ORRCA’s 24/7 Rescue Hotline near Batemans Bay, trailing lines used for fishing and buoys attached.
A specialist response was mobilised, with teams tracking the whale and working together on Saturday to safely remove the entanglement on the weekend.
The NPWS Large Whale Disentanglement Team (LWDT) successfully removed 46 metres of trailing line, two buoys and seaweed weighing a total of 13 kilograms from the whale, allowing it to resume more natural movement. Following the disentanglement, the whale was observed moving faster and responding positively.
A drone pilot operating as part of the NSW Right Whale ID Program obtained aerial imagery of the whale, providing valuable information on the type and configuration of the entanglement to assist the response.
Disentangling marine wildlife is a complex and dangerous operation that requires highly trained operators, specialist equipment and suitable conditions to safely approach and assist animals at sea.
Large Whale Disentanglement training is supported by the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy (MEMS).
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Incident Controller Andrew Wall said:
“This was a fantastic outcome for this whale and a great example of the importance of rapid reporting and coordinated response efforts by a variety of specially trained teams.
