Watch: Marine rescuers in Australia fight for two days to free young whale entangled in shark nets
This rescue has started a serious debate about Australia’s shark control nets which is creating a problem for other large marine animals
For the past two days, Marine rescuers in Australia were tirelessly working to free a humpback whale that was entangled in a shark net off the Queensland’s Gold Coast area.
Video of the rescue operation has gone viral where Sea World staff can be seen working to free the struggling whale in the water. For the past two days, workers from Sea World and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries did their best to free the young humpback, while it cried out loud in a desperate attempt to free itself.
Earlier on Wednesday (11 August), the rescue attempts by experts were abandoned after 10 long hours as darkness fell over the coast. Meanwhile, on Thursday (12 August), rescuers were seen trying their level best again by reaching out with blades at the end of long poles. They were also seen trying to cut a large mess of broken tangled net with orange buoys and yellow weights that caught the whale’s tail.
Finally, after a long wait and struggle, the mission ended. However, reports suggest that the whale was set off in Coolangatta by the rescue team without completely freeing it from the net. They could not free it properly due to difficult conditions at sea that made it tough for them, The Australian explained.
Meanwhile, as per the 7 News report, the mammal has some of the gear wound around its tail.
It was the longest rescue of a whale trapped in shark nets in Sea World’s history. Marine rescue teams spent two days working to save the humpback off our coast. Experts say the animal has a ‘sporting chance’ of survival. https://t.co/tIEQ9K5sus @JoshAdsett #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/ufX4ayrFEg
— 7NEWS Gold Coast (@7NewsGoldCoast) August 13, 2021
Giving an update on the release of the whale, Sea Shepherd Australia asserted that it was released on Thursday with “a length of anchor chain and large shark net buoys still attached”. Also, the rescue team has deflated the buoys from the whale to allow it to dive but they are concerned about its survival.
This rescue has started a serious debate about Australia’s shark control nets which is creating a problem for other large marine animals. Moreover, few conservation groups in the country have been demanding the removal of shark control nets, particularly during whale migration season.
