Young humpback whale free after frantic rescue

It is feared a young humpback whale which was rescued off the Gold Coast today was trapped in shark nets for hours, leading to calls for a significant change.

A JUVENILE humpback whale weighing up to 30 tonnes was likely trapped in shark nets for hours before it was finally cut free off Main Beach this morning.

The whale, estimated to measure about 8m in length, suffered abrasions and was exhausted by its ordeal.

But will likely make a full recovery after its release at 11.35am.

The Sea World Rescue Team working to free the whale. Picture: Jerad Williams.

Sea World Gold Coast Marine Sciences director Trevor Long, who was involved in the rescue over several hours, said the operation was a “difficult and delicate one”.

He said the whale was “wrapped in net, it was around the head and the pectoral fin on the left side”.

“The tail was heavily, heavily wrapped up and took us a long time to free,” he said.

“It was very uncomfortable (on the boat). It wasn’t good conditions.”

Mr Long said one staff member seen on video leaning over the side of a vessel “put a big effort in” before he threw up due to choppy conditions and perhaps overexertion.

The rescue happened in front of red and yellow flags on Main Beach, in full view of swimmers and other beachgoers.

Footage provided by Sea World shows the marine mammal thrashing about as rescuers used specialised equipment to remove netting, which may have trapped the whale for 12 hours or more.

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries said two Marine Animal Release Team (MART) crews were alerted to the tangled whale at 7.50am.

The Sea World Rescue Team was alerted about 8.45am and raced to help

Mr Long called on the State Government to host an open forum on shark mitigation measures.

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The juvenile humpback whale was freed after a difficult rescue operation. Picture: Jerad Williams.

He feared more whales could become snagged in nets on the Gold Coast this migration season.

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

“Queensland now has more than 33,000 whales pass along our coast every year and, since 2006, MART has successfully released all but two of the 52 whales that were tangled in nets,” he said.

“During the 2018 humpback whale migration, six whales were caught in Shark Control Program apparatus and all were successfully released.”

Mr Krause said the whale was the second to be caught in Queensland nets this migration season.

The State Government was investing an extra $17.1 million over four years in the Shark Control Program in the 2019-20 budget to “ensure even greater swimmer protection”, according to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

“The Government understands that many people have strong views about shark control. We have listened to those views and have committed $1 million a year to trial alternatives that may be appropriate for Queensland,” a statement read.