Australia: Humpback whale trapped in fishing net rescued ahead of World Ocean Day

A grueling eight-hour rescue mission freed a humpback whale trapped south of Sydney. The success of the rescue came ahead of the World Ocean's Day observed around the world on June 8, 2023.

Rescue efforts began on Saturday morning after reports of a whale in distress off Five Islands near Port Kembla in New South Wales.

Volunteer crews from Marine Rescue NSW and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service were called to assist, Australian Associated Press reported.

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The whale was seen caught in a series of lines and floats. During the rescue, they proved to be a challenge for rescuers as they struggled to disentangle and free the giant creature.

Meanwhile, the weather conditions deteriorated during the course of rescue. Reports said that other whales in the area thwarted recovery attempts.

"A series of lines and floats were streaming from the whale," the Marine Rescue NSW inspector Glenn Sullivan, was quoted as saying by Associated Press.

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Meanwhile, a specialist National Parks Wildlife Service whale disentanglement team joined the operation just after noon.

Glenn Sullivan initially said that good weather conditions meant a successful rescue operation was likely.

But with a southerly wind change, lesser daylight and other whales in the area it took rescuers more than eight hours to free the mammal.

"The rescue crews are over the moon," Sullivan said. "It’s now swimming on its own steam."

Whale migration begins in May, when the mammals head north before starting their southbound journey in August.

The season peak occurs from June to July.

World Ocean Day is internationally observed on 8 June to spread awareness on need to conserve aquatic habitat and overall well-being of the oceans.

The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development and the Ocean Institute of Canada at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

(With inputs from agencies)

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