In Australia, a whale tangled in 800 kg of ropes and buoys was rescued by local marine authorities

ANIMALS – A very large-scale operation. Off the coast of Australia, a humpback whale entangled in 800 kg of marine equipment was saved by local authorities. The whale in difficulty had been spotted for the first time a week before, before finally being rescued this Saturday, June 29.

The massive mammal, about 18 metres long, was spotted by a commercial helicopter on June 23 near Loch Sport in the south-east of the country, before being lost from sight. Caught in just under a tonne of rope and buoys used by fishermen to trap sharks, the animal was swimming with great difficulty, reports a publication by the Victorian Marine Police.

« The whale was so tangled in the ropes and was having difficulty moving, so we knew it was in real distress. “, explained James Dalton, local police inspector. It was only five days later that the whale reappeared in the same area of ​​Queensland, an opportunity for local authorities to place a tracker on the animal to avoid losing it again.

The extraordinary rescue operation was carried out by a unit specializing in the disentanglement of whales. In total, the teams had to cut 800 kg of fishing equipment to free the cetacean, and use a crane to remove ropes and buoys and prevent further incidents, as you can see in this video published by the Guardian.

The fishing equipment came from an international vessel according to the investigation by local authorities, explains ABC News.

All rescuers returned safely

No easy task for the rescuers. Ellen Dwyer, who monitored the operation, describes the difficulty the teams had in getting close to the whale, which ” struggled a lot », reports The Guardian. However, this did not prevent them from removing 185 meters of rope out of the 200 that trapped the animal. “It’s great to have been able to complete this mission and bring the entire team back safely. », Estimated Ellen Dwyer.

« To safely cut the ropes, we had to come back the next day to make sure we had managed to remove enough rope so the animal could swim freely again. It was a huge team effort and we are very happy that it resulted in a positive outcome said James Dalton.

Local marine authorities say abandoned fishing gear is a major problem, “ which affects entire ecosystems and directly impacts animals such as whales ” according to ABC News.

This is unfortunately not a rare incident in the area. According to marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd, Queensland’s shark nets captured 7,808 non-target animals, including 734 protected species between 2013 and 2014. Another whale was already trapped in a shark net last Monday, before being rescued by witnesses at the scene.

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