Humpback whale found tangled in a shark net off Australia. Watch its daring rescue
As humpback whales make annual migrations across the Earth’s vast oceans, they run into a series of roadblocks.
Ocean liners crossing the Atlantic, fishing boats trawling lines miles behind them, and nets spanning bays and harbors meant to keep sharks away create an aquatic obstacle course for one of the world’s biggest travelers.
A 33-foot-long humpback whale found itself tangled in one of those nets on June 6 off the coast of Australia.
Biologists with Sea World – Gold Coast said the adult humpback was wrapped in a “shark control program net” at Mermaid Beach in Queensland on the east coast of Australia.
The nets are meant to “reduce the risk of shark bites” at popular beaches, according to the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, and are used at 86 beaches along the coast.
Before first light, two rescue teams got out on the water and tracked down the tangled whale, according to a video posted by Sea World – Gold Coast on Facebook.
The rescuers needed two boats to approach the whale and used specialized tools to slowly cut away the net.
They were able to “remove all the netting from the whale’s head and pectoral fins in around an hour,” the post said.
After being freed, the whale took to deeper water, heading east out into the ocean, the rescuers said.
The International Whaling Commission estimates more than 300,000 whales and dolphins die each year from entanglement in nets and fishing gear.
Humpback whales are a protected species, NOAA says, and primary threats to their populations include entanglement, vessel strikes and ocean noise.
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