Public asked to look for entangled whale off Otago/Southland coast

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is appealing to the public to look out for a humpback whale entangled in rope following a sighting off Taiaroa Head on the Otago coast yesterday.

Anyone who sees this entangled humpback whale is asked to report it to the Department’s emergency number 0800DOCHOT - 0800 36 24 68 or DOC’s Dunedin office – 03 477 0677.

Monarch Wildlife Cruise staff from Dunedin sighted the entangled whale about 1.30pm on Wednesday.

DOC Coastal Otago Conservation Services Manager, David Agnew, said the rope was wrapped around the 12m-long whale’s body, across its back behind the blowhole, disappearing below the pectoral fins.

“We want people to let us know if they see the entangled whale and we will attempt to disentangle it from the rope if we can,” David said.

“We have a specialist team of DOC staff trained in whale disentanglement techniques who will travel from Kaikoura to attempt to cut the line from the whale if it’s seen and it’s safe to do so.”

The procedures for cutting whales free from entanglement can be slow and take several hours. For safety reasons, it requires favourable sea conditions and sufficient daylight hours.

Anyone who sees the whale shouldn’t attempt to cut the rope entangling the whale. It’s dangerous and can make it more difficult for the specialised team to carry out the disentanglement procedure for freeing the whale. Boaties should also take care not to get close to the whale or do anything else that could disturb or harass it as this would also make the team’s job harder.

David said the whale is expected to be moving southwards down the Otago/Southland coast. They can travel up to 100km over 24 hours. Humpback whales migrate south at this time of the year and there will be limited chances to intervene once it is south of New Zealand.

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