Rescuers race to free humpback whale tangled in fish trap in Sydney Harbour
Rescuers are in a race against time to free a juvenile humpback whale caught in a fish trap in Sydney Habour.
Failing light forced crews to abandon their operation after 6pm on Thursday, hours after the young whale was first seen in trouble.
A whale-watching cruise spotted the whale tangled in a fish trap outside the Sydney Harbour Heads before 1.30pm and alerted marine wildlife rescue organisation, ORRCA.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The whale swam further into the harbour, heading toward Shark Island, near Point Piper in the city’s eastern suburbs.
According to Nine News, three NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service vessels responded to the call and were working to cut the whale free from the trap.
It is understood the whale’s tail is caught in the ropes and buoys of a 50-metre-long fish trap.
Crews spent the afternoon trailing the whale through the harbour, dropping orange buoys on the netting it was trapped in to slow the mammal down so they could cut it free, Nine News reports.
ORRCA president Ashley Ryan said it was a “big, dangerous job”, but they hoped to keep the whale in the harbour where crews can “keep eyes on it”.
Before abandoning the rescue mission at dusk on Thursday, crews attached a GPS tracker to the whale in hopes they can find it and cut it free in the morning.
