Two whales caught and freed from shark nets at Wurtulla Beach, Sunshine Coast
Footage has emerged of the rescue mission to free a whale mother and calf from shark nets off the Sunshine Coast as fears mount they could die from stress and exhaustion.
Sunshine Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sunshine Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A mother and calf whale have been freed after being entangled in a shark net on the Sunshine Coast on Friday morning.
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries said that shortly after 9.30am that its Marine Animal Rescue Team had freed the whales from the nets at Wurtulla Beach.
A Fisheries Queensland spokesman said the rescue team unpicked the net using specifically-designed equipment, allowing the whales to freely swim away.
They said there have been 15 whales freed from nets in Queensland this year.
Sea Shepherd Australia threatened and endangered species campaigner Lauren Sandeman said the whales were still at-risk of dying once released given they had been battling to survive since beachgoers spotted them at 5am.
“There’s a chance these whales could die,” she said.
She said the fate of the whales was now unknown given they could die from stress and exhaustion after being stranded for hours in the “incredibly lethal” nets.
“They’ve killed whales already,” she said.
Ms Sandeman said these incidents were also harmful to rescue teams who risked their own lives to free the large mammals under “extremely stressful conditions”.
The organisation called for the immediate removal of the “death traps” given more whales were at risk as they continued to migrate to Antarctica and after a series of whale entanglements this year.
Ms Sandeman said the incident marked the 13th and 14th whales to be caught in the nets this season and the third and fourth in less than two weeks.
“These indiscriminate killing nets are a deliberate assault on our precious marine wildlife,” she said.
Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said Sea Shepherd Australia’s claims were “demonstrably untrue”.
He claimed 63 whales had been freed from 65 whale entanglements since 2011.
“Any suggestion that shark control equipment is causing mass whale casualties is patently false,” he said.
He added that human life will always be the top priority for the state government’s Shark Control Program.
Public servants better off under Labor, says Premier
Steven Miles has conceded he’s open to agreeing to a union’s demands for a pay rise above inflation, arguing public servants would be better paid under Labor.
Read more
Teen flown from K’gari after snake bite
A teenage boy was flown to Hervey Bay Hospital overnight after being bitten by a snake at K’gari.
Read more