NewsRescue in Australia: humpback whale freed from shark net
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Rescue in Australia: humpback whale freed from shark net

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The day-long rescue operation was successful: Australian animal rights activists were able to free a humpback whale from a Hau net. After the incident, there was renewed criticism of the large fishing nets.

Brisbane – For days, animal rights activists off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland have been fighting for the life of a young humpback whale whose tail fin was caught in a shark net.

Now the redeeming news: The marine mammal is free again. Although the rescuers did not manage to cut through some of the remnants of the net, which were wrapped very tightly around the fin, the animal could now continue its annual migration relatively unhindered, reported the broadcaster 9News.

Residents discovered the animal on Wednesday and alerted the authorities. Since then, employees of the Ministry of Fisheries and the Sea World theme park had worked tirelessly to rescue the whale from its dangerous position. He was caught in a 200-meter-long net that was attached to two heavy anchors.

According to the authorities, the humpback whale got entangled in the shark net off the coast of Coolangatta on the Gold Coast and dragged it south with it. The incident sparked new discussions about the use of the controversial networks. Animal rights activists are calling for these to be removed at least at the time of the whale migration along the Australian coasts.

There are solutions to ensure the safety on the beaches without endangering the wildlife, the news site news.com.au quoted the shark researcher Leonardo Guida. “Get the nets out and get drones in the air,” he emphasized. It is “incredibly frustrating” to experience the same thing every year with the whale migration. In the past ten years, 54 whales have become entangled in shark nets in Queensland – most of them have been successfully freed.

The regional government said that the safety of swimmers was the top priority – they wanted to hold onto the nets first. Animal rights activists have long warned that the hundreds of meters of shark nets anchored beneath the surface of the ocean can be death traps for numerous species, including dolphins and whales. dpa

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