Man who rescued whale in dinghy before authorities arrived faces fine

A lone man in a dinghy has undertaken a risky rescue of a whale calf trapped in nets off the Gold Coast this morning. But it’s landed him in strife.

Whale stuck in shark nets off Burleigh Beach. Photo: ABC Gold Coast

A LONE man in a dinghy who freed a distressed whale calf caught in shark nets off Burleigh Heads is under investigation by Department of Agriculture and Fisheries officials for breaching an exclusion zone.

The man reportedly launched his own rescue effort this morning after becoming frustrated at authorities for not acting quickly enough.

He used his boat to speed into waters off Burleigh Heads, removing his shirt and donning swimming fins before diving into the water to cut the baby whale free.

The whale rescuer didn’t want to be named.

Agricultural and Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said last year amendments were made to the fisheries act, including a possible fine of $26,900 for involvement with shark patrol equipment and a 20m exclusion zone around equipment, including nets and drumlines.

A baby whale trapped in shark nets at Burleigh Heads. Photo: Supplied

Gallery: Amazing images of tinny ‘hero’s’ whale rescue

Failure to adhere to the 20-metre exclusion zone around shark control equipment could attract a $522 fine.

Mr Furner said the whale rescuer is under investigation, but there has been no fine issued.

“It is a breach to go within 20m of the shark patrol program equipment,” he said.

“So no doubt if the investigation is carried through it will be up to the department if the man is prosecuted.”

It’s unknown how long the calf – believed to be a humpback – had been trapped.

The whale was first spotted by a documentary film crew around 7am and lifeguards and authorities were alerted.

Director Andre Borell, 33, from Brisbane said he was on the phone straight away when the whale was spotted on their footage.

“We were doing a fly along of one of the nets, looking down on it for a shot,” he said.

“Then we saw a whale and that’s when it all started.

“Unfortunately, no one turned up until after 10am.

“Luckily a good Samaritan came up and did fisheries’ job for them.

“I ran and hired a paddle board and was on my way out there myself, so I didn’t see what happened.

“I’ve been told a guy went out in his tinny and freed the whale around the 9.45am mark, so it was caught for some time.”

Authorities were called around 7am. Photo: ABC Gold Coast

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Shark Control Program Manager Michael Mikitis confirmed he received a call at 7.20am on the hotline and a rescue team were on site by 9.45am.

Mr Mikitis said given the time it took to confirm there was an entanglement and to round up a team, this was a “fairly good response time”, and he doesn’t encourage the whale rescuer’s actions.

“This could have ended very differently, had the person got entangled in the net himself or the whale acted out towards him,” he said.

Mr Mikitis also confirmed he called SeaWorld immediately after the report and they were en route when the whale was released.

A lone man in a dinghy save a baby whale caught in shark nets off Burleigh Headland Photo: Supplied

As whales begin their highly anticipated three-month journey from Antarctica to the warmer waters of Queensland, animal rights activists said they are concerned for the safety of whales.

This is the first case of whale entanglement this season.

Queensland Shark Control program manager Jeff Krause has previously defended the shark control measures in place and in June 2019 said whale entanglements were rare.

After five whale rescue missions last year, shark nets became the focus of heated debate.

Sea Shepherd Queensland co-ordinator Johnathon Clark is calling for the removal of shark nets.

Sea World Gold Coast Marine Sciences director Trevor Long said he would like the State Government to host an open forum on shark mitigation measures.

The State Government invested an additional $17.1 million over four years in the Shark Control Program in the 2019-20 budget.

Originally published as Man who rescued whale in dinghy before authorities arrived faces fine