A rescue operation is underway off Sydney’s northern beaches after a baby humpback whale got tangled in netting several days ago.
The exhausted calf appears to have swallowed part of what has been described as either fishing or drum net located off Bilgoa Beach about 7.30am on Friday, which has then wrapped around the whale’s torso.
By 10am, the pair were spotted near Wollongong.
The Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) received reports of the whale tangled in netting off northern NSW beaches earlier this week, but had lost sight of the animal.
ORRCA spokeswoman Jacqueline O’Neill on Friday said the tired and distressed calf, which has been swimming south alongside its mother, was spotted again overnight in waters off Sydney’s northern beaches.
A disentanglement team from NSW National Parks and Wildlife is on-site assessing the situation and will make an attempt to free the calf.
Ms O’Neill said reports the whale was hours from total exhaustion were likely an exaggeration.
“Whales are pretty resilient animals,” she told AAP.
A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Primary Industries DPI told the ABC the netting was not a drumline, used to catch sharks that may be swimming near popular beaches.
“The big orange buoys used on DPI SMART drumlines are very similar to those in the photos used on the QLD nets, hence the confusion,” a spokesperson said.
Whale watchers estimate up to 30,000 whales, plus all the newborn calves, make their way down to Antarctica this year, with fishing lines impacting their migration path.
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