A JUVENILE humpback whale that became caught in a shark net in waters off the Gold Coast has been partially freed from the tangle.
Whale-watching tour boats spotted the distressed juvenile on Saturday morning and alerted rescuers at Sea World.
Channel Seven reported rescuers had removed about 80 per cent of the netting from the whale’s body before it swam away.
“It would thrash the lower half of its body to one side as if it was trying to free itself,” Sea World’s Mitchell LeRoy told the network.
“We are notifying the fisheries departments up and down the coast — they’ll keep an eye out and we will get reports as the animal moves forwards.”
Sea World staff were forced to euthanise a humpback whale calf after it repeatedly stranded itself on the Gold Coast last week.
Humpback whale pods migrate from the feeding grounds of Antarctica, around New Zealand and then up Australia’s east coast during winter months.
Passengers on whale watching boats reported seeing the whale trapped in netting.
Jonathan Northall tweeted a photo and video of the whale taken aboard a Sea World whale cruise on which he was a passenger this morning.
source:couriermail.com.au
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