‘Whale is now free!’ Crews rejoice at humpback’s harbour rescue

A juvenile humpback whale entangled in netting has finally been cut free by rescue crews after a massive operation in Sydney Harbour on Friday morning.

NSW Maritime rescuers during an operation to free a Humpback Whale that was tangled up in fishing nets Picture: Justin Lloyd.

A juvenile humpback whale entangled in netting has finally been cut free by rescue crews after a massive operation in Sydney Harbour on Friday morning.

ORCCA second vice president Jessica Fox confirmed the positive news just after 11am, stating: “Whale is now free”.

The whale, now free from its entanglement, is gracefully making its way out of the harbour.

The positive development follows a massive operation by rescue teams, who had to pause their efforts last night due to darkness. 

The rescue mission resumed this morning after Orrca volunteers were alerted by a whale-watching group that spotted the distressed whale around 1:30pm on Thursday.

The exhausted whale was cut free and made its way out of the harbour. Picture: 9News

Rescue crews were scrambling to free the whale on Friday morning. Picture: 9News

The whale tangled. Picture: 9News

There had been concerns that the whale might have travelled as far as Wollongong after losing a GPS tracker. 

The positive update comes after search efforts to find and free the mammal resumed after crews were forced to abandon the operation last night when darkness set in.

A humpback whale became stuck in nets at Sydney Harbour. Picture: 9News

Earlier, rescue crews were working to free the struggling whale as it continues to submerge and resurface.

Anyone who spotted it was encouraged to contact Orrca 24 hour hotline.

“The behaviour of entangled whales can be unpredictable and they can change directions of travel,” Orrca stated on social media.

The whale was spotted just off Bradley's Head on Friday morning. Picture: 9News

“As such we are asking for anyone who can get out on headlands...to please keep a lookout for these whales.”

More to come.

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Originally published as ‘Whale is now free!’ Crews rejoice at humpback’s harbour rescue