Calf humpback whale freed from shark nets off Burleigh Heads
A BABY humpback was rescued after being caught in shark nets off a popular Gold Coast beach early this morning.
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A BABY humpback was rescued after being caught in shark nets off Burleigh Heads early this morning.
Witnesses reported seeing the calf whale stuck in the nets as its mother swam nearby around 5am.
Another whale rescued this morning here on the Gold Coast, great work Team Sea World @destgc @GCBulletin @9NewsGoldCoast @7NewsBrisbane @7NewsGoldCoast #sharknets pic.twitter.com/EdtygKcc94
— Bikash Randhawa (@BikashRandhawa) November 2, 2018
Sea World Director of Marine Science Trevor Long said the calf was believed to be stuck in the nets for about two hours before being rescued.
“I think the calf hadn’t been in there long, probably about two hours and as a result there wasn’t a lot of damaged caused by the nets,” Mr Long said.
“There was only some superficial damage where the net had rubbed some skin off the head.
“The mother whale was very distressed and wouldn’t leave the calf. That bond we see between a mother and calf is always very strong.”
In a delicate rescue operation which took around 30 minutes, the team managed to successfully remove the netting and disentangle the calf using specialised cutting equipment. The calf swam away with its mother when released to continue its Southern migration.
It is the second time a baby whale has found itself caught in shark nets in the past month, after Sea World staff rescued a 4m whale off Burleigh Heads in October.
Mr Long said the Gold Coast is fortunate to have a number of surf clubs and residents in high rises keeping an eye on the whales as they pass by the shark nets.
“People are very concerned about the nets but fortunately we’ve got a lot of eyes in the air.,” Mr Long said.