Entangled humpback whale freed off the coast of Kaikōura

Thursday, 4 April 2019

A humpback whale has been freed after being entangled in fishing gear off the Otago coast.

The whale was spotted last Thursday by a University of Otago lecturer and students about 10km off Karitane, north of Dunedin, with line entangled around its body and tail and trailing a buoy. 

It was seen again close to the Kaikōura coast and reported to the Department of Conservation (DOC) by Whale Watch Kaikōura on Wednesday.

DOC ranger Mike Morrissey said the rope was tightly wound around the whales tail leaving extensive and deep cuts. 

**READ MORE:

* DOC warns boaties to be mindful of dolphins this summer 

* Rescuers searching for entangled humpback whale 

* Humpback whale entangled in ropes in Bay of Islands

* DOC call to report sightings of entangled whale off Otago coast**

Morrissey said the whale had been very agitated while disentanglement teams worked for several hours to cut the rope from it.

'The whale was thrashing about, rolling, and tail slapping and you have to know what you are doing. If you didn't have experience and know what to expect it would be dangerous and people could get harmed.'

The whale was calm and still once the last of the rope was cut from it, he said.

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

According to DOC, the procedure for disentangling whales involves using grappling hooks to attach rope and floats to material entangling a whale to slow it down and tire it out. When the whale is sufficiently exhausted, disentanglement teams edge along the ropes until they are close enough to reach over with a long pole and a range of various knife blades to cut away the material.

DOC has two large whale disentanglement teams – one each in the North and South Islands. 

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