Whales are becoming trapped in Gold Coast shark nets more frequently sparking calls for nets to be reconsidered

WHALES are being tangled in Gold Coast shark nets at an alarming rate sparking calls for them to be removed — what do you think?

THE fifth whale to be trapped in Gold Coast shark nets was rescued quickly yesterday but experts warn we can expect to see more getting into trouble in coming weeks.

The 8m subadult humpback had its head snared in a net off Kirra and was seen struggling in the water with other whales nearby.

Kirra resident Maxeen Lee said she saw the whale while she was swimming and had watched for about an hour until it was cut free.

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Seaworld crews work to free a stranded whale on the Gold Coast this year.

“He is not good — he has probably been there all night,” she said.

“All the other whales are in the background splashing, like they are talking to him.”

The animal had been released by Fisheries Department shark control officers by the time the Sea World whale rescue team arrived.

It had suffered only minor cuts from its ordeal.

However, Sea World director of marine sciences Trevor Long said the number of whales caught in the nets was only going to increase as humpbacks now made their way back south past Gold Coast waters.

He said with the whale population increasing at 11 per cent a year, the entanglement issue was going to rise to a point where net usage would have to be reconsidered.

“I know the State Government has its view that bather safety comes first and I understand that,” he said.

“But it’s a shame we can’t be more proactive.

“We’ve already had five whales caught this season and it’s still early in the season to be seeing that many.

There is a large number of whales migrating past the Gold Coast.

“But with the humpback population building up to around 20,000 now, that’s a large number of curious animals coming past us.

“It’s going to be a numbers game where we will get more and more whales and the Government is going to have to recognise the issue.”

Mr Long said the nets all had pingers supposedly designed to warn whales of the hazard but in reality no one knew if the sound-emitting devices worked as a deterrent.

He said no quality research had been done on pingers and with whales still being caught in nets it could be that the sound made whales curious and actually brought them in closer to the nets.

Mr Long said there was a need for a study about what other methods could be used to warn off whales and other animals such as dolphins.