Humpback whale entangled in 800kg of fishing equipment freed in Australia

Heavy ropes and fishing equipment had severely restricted animal’s ability to swim

A humpback whale tangled up in 800kg of fishing equipment was freed following a rescue operation off the Gippsland coast in Australia.

The whale was first seen entangled in ropes and buoys on 23 June by a commercial helicopter near Loch Sport in Central Gippsland.

The mammal disappeared until Friday when a multi-agency rescue team spotted it again and attached a tracker so they would not lose it again.

Whale was tangled up with ropes and buoys (Deeca Gippsland)

The heavy ropes and fishing equipment had severely restricted the whale’s ability to swim.

The whale was in “good spirits” after the rescue team managed to cut 185 of the 200m of rope on Saturday, said Ellen Dwyer of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

She said it was difficult to approach the animal from a close distance as it was “moving around a fair bit”.

A rescue operation helped the whale return to safety (Deeca Gippsland)

Victoria police said they used a crane to lift the heavy fishing tackle out of the water to ensure it did not become a hazard for any vessels or marine life.

Inspector James Dalton of Victoria’s water police said the whale appeared in distress and the search was unlike any they had undertaken before.

“The whale was so tightly tangled in the ropes and it wasn’t travelling very far so we knew it was in real distress,” he said.

Rescuers cut 800kg of ropes and buoys from the whale (Victoria Police)

“To safely cut the ropes away, we needed to return the following day to ensure we could successfully remove enough of the rope that it could swim freely again. This was a huge team effort and we’re so happy that it had a great outcome.”

Ms Dwyer said they were “pleased” that they were able to “successfully remove a significant amount of weight and rope from the whale”.