DOC call to report sightings of entangled whale off Otago coast

Friday, 29 March 2019

The Department of Conservation is asking people to keep a lookout for a humpback whale entangled in fishing gear seen off the Otago coast on Thursday afternoon.

The whale was spotted by a University of Otago lecturer and students about 10km off Karitane, north of Dunedin, with line entangled around it's body and tail and trailing a buoy. It was moving slowly north.

The entangled humpback could be seen off the South Island's east coast in the coming days as it makes the annual humpback whale migration north to tropical waters.

Earlier this year, a humpback whale trapped in rope was first spotted off the Otago coast and again off Kaikōura a few days later. The team was able to free the whale easily, due to the rope being in tact.

DOC ranger Mike Morrissey, who leads the South Island large whale disentanglement team, asks any boaties who see the whale to not get close to it or do anything that would disturb or harass it.

* Humpback whale entangled in ropes in Bay of Islands

* Jawbone held by DOC as whale buried**

'We ask that no-one attempts to cut away the buoy being trailed by the whale. It can be dangerous and removing the buoy makes it more difficult for our trained team to carry out the whale disentanglement procedures.

'People seeing the whale can assist our rescue response by staying with the whale, monitoring it and advising of its exact location for our disentanglement team to get to it.

'The whale will likely be in some distress but it is moving and is not any immediate danger so urgent action isn't required. The priority is people's safety and ensuring disentanglement is carried out safely by our trained team.'

Dr Will Rayment, of the University of Otago's Department of Marine Science, said that positive news on increasing whale numbers does mean challenges like this one could become more frequent.

'More whales means greater overlap with human impacts such as fishing, and an increased risk of entanglements like this one. We need to start thinking about where and when these overlaps will occur so that we can manage the conflicts before they become too serious.

'It's pretty distressing to see a large whale entangled like this, knowing that it is suffering and that the consequences might be very bad. It was spending more time at, or just below, the surface than I would expect, suggesting that its diving ability was inhibited,' Rayment said.

Attempts to cut free entangled whales is only carried out when it is safe to do so. For safety, it requires sea conditions not being too rough and sufficient daylight hours as the procedures can take several hours and it's not safe to disentangle whales in darkness.

The whale disentanglement team initially fully assesses the situation to determine the safest and most appropriate course of action for attempting to cut free entangled whales. Having an exact location for an entangled whale assists the whale disentanglement team in getting to the whale as soon as it is possible to do so.

Anyone who sees the entangled whale should call the department's 24-hour hotline 0800 DOCHOT/0800 36 24 68.