SAWDN - Britannia Bay - Sunday, 6 September. Whales assisted

At 10h33, Sunday, 6 September, SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) volunteers from NSRI Mykonos towed the sea rescue craft Spirit of Rotary - East London to St Helena Bay harbour where the sea rescue craft was launched and headed towards Britannia Bay where a whale had been observed by eye-witnesses who had raised the alarm reporting the whale to be appearing to be entangled in fishing rope.

On arrival on the scene an adult Southern Right whale and a Southern Right whale calf were located close inshore at Britannia Bay.The adult Southern Right whale appeared to disentangle itself from fishing rope as the sea rescue craft arrived on the scene.

SAWDN crew and the NSRI Mykonos crew monitored the whales progress for over an hour and the adult and the calf continued moving freely with no further fishing rope entanglement observed.SAWDN are confident that the whales required no further assistance and the sea rescue craft returned to the shore.

The South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) was established in 2006 in order to manage entangled whales using specialized equipment and is comprised of trained volunteers from the National Sea Rescue Institute, Telkom Maritime Radio Services, KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, Department of Environmental, Forestry and Fisheries, Centre for Sustainable Oceans at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Nature, Mammal Research Institute, South African National Parks, South African Police Service, Bayworld, various Boat Based Whale Watching and Shark Cage Diving Operators, the Rock Lobster Industry and the Octopus Industry and fully supported by the Dolphin Action and Protection Group.

SAWDN COVERS THE ENTIRE SA COASTLINE
Whales assisted to date: 204