Fishing net poses danger to whale and humans in daring rescue

A fishing net has proved a dangerous item to both marine life and humans after a group of marine rescuers risked their lives saving a young whale that had become trapped in coils of rope.

The 11-tonne humpback calf was freed last week after a disentanglement team* from ORRCA* – a licensed marine rescue group of volunteers – was sent out along with Marine Rescue NSW and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Thought to be about two or three years old, the young whale was spotted in distress off Sydney’s northern beaches. ORRCA tracked the marine mammal using a drone so that its disentanglement team could travel out to help free it.

Once they arrived, the team were able to cut the ropes in multiple places to remove several loops from the whale’s body.

Two small pieces of rope have remained attached to the whale’s body, however, they are expected to fall off naturally over time.

As part of the rescue, special permission was given for a drone to be flown within 100m of the whale to assist in disentanglement activities. The drone was able to take close enough photos of the humpback to show where it was tangled. Usually, the law requires drone operators to stay at least 100m away from whales and other marine animals in order to protect the animal and avoid disturbing it.

ORRCA vice president Jessica Fox told the Saturday Telegraph that rescues such as these were “incredibly dangerous” for volunteers because of the animal’s large size and distressed nature while tangled.

“It’s around a 30 tonne wild animal that can move any way that it wants at any time,” she said. “So there is a large risk of a fin strike, even just a splashing action, that can be enough to displace* someone from one of those smaller vessels*.”

She said the rope could have come from a fishing vessel.

“Young whales are curious and often want to play,” she said. “The rope was probably fishing rope, displaced by a storm, or displaced from ships in rough sea.”

According to the International Whaling Commission*, more than 300,000 whales and dolphins are estimated to die each year as a result of bycatch* or entanglement* in fishing gear.

Being tangled in fishing rope can lead to injury as well as suffocation if it prevents the whale from reaching the surface to breathe.

It also poses a serious concern for human safety because of the risk that rescuers face when attempting to free the tangled whales. Rescuers often must manoeuvre* boats on open water in changing weather conditions while handling sharp knives and high tension ropes – all while helping a large, wild animal that is both injured and distressed.

For those that spot a whale or dolphin tangled in the wild, Ms Fox recommended people collect details like “GPS location, direction of travel, and description of the entanglement” through photos and videos, and then ring the ORRCA rescue hotline on 02 9415 3333.

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GLOSSARY

• disentanglement team: a team of rescuers who are specially trained in untangling whales
• ORRCA: Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia, a charity that rescues and rehabilitates Whales, Dolphins, Seals and Dugongs
• displace: throw them out of the boat
• vessels: boats
• International Whaling Commission: a global body responsible for management of whaling and the conservation of whales
• bycatch: unintended animal or fish species caught in commercial fishing nets
• entanglement: getting tangled up
• manoeuvre: skilfully moving the boat

EXTRA READING
Two sharks die at Australian zoo
Young humpback’s harbour rescue
Whale swallows kayaker then spits

QUICK QUIZ
1. How did the whale get tangled?
2. How heavy was the whale?
3. Why was freeing it very dangerous?
4. How many whales and dolphins are estimated to die each year from entanglement and bycatch?
5. What should you do if you see a dolphin or whale tangled in the wild?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Whale safe fishing gear
Work in a small group to brainstorm and sketch some whale safe fishing gear that large fishing companies could use that doesn’t harm the whales.

In your sketch include the materials and design of your product to share with the class.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Design and Technologies, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Why do you think these wildlife volunteers put themselves in harm’s way to help save these entangled whales?

Do you think their families would support this volunteer work?

What things are you passionate about that you might risk harm to help?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article, or for the interview.

Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.

Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.