Rescuing giants: The NSRI's heroic whale disentanglement mission

On Friday, 28 June, the SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) received an urgent call about a whale entangled in a fishing line off Walker Bay, Hermanus.

The alert came from the local whale charter vessel Miroscha, which had been vigilantly monitoring the distressed juvenile Southern Right whale from a safe distance.

The NSRI Hermanus swiftly dispatched the rescue craft Leonard Smith, call sign Rescue 17 Alpha, equipped with specialised cutting tools, to free the whale. Upon arrival, they found the whale heavily entangled in a tuna monofilament line, which had embedded itself into the whale's tail and flukes.

The team made several cautious attempts to cut the line, battling both the elements and the powerful movements of the distressed whale. Despite the challenges, they managed to cut away most of the line, although some damage was sustained to their equipment. The whale, still partially entangled, swam away before the team could completely free it.

James Janse van Rensburg, a key member of the rescue team, reflected on the operation: “We often underestimate the dangers involved in these kinds of operations. The amount of power these whales actually have is quite frightening. It brings home the point that we need to exercise a lot of caution. As beautiful as they are, as much as we want to help them, these are some of the more dangerous calls we face at Sea Rescue.”

Later that day, the local whale charter vessel Umnati spotted what appeared to be the same whale. The NSRI crew launched Leonard Smith once again, finding the whale swimming more freely but still entangled. They managed to remove most of the remaining line, though about 10% remained loosely attached.

The whale dove underwater and was not seen again, but the team recovered all cut lines for disposal. Over the weekend, local coastwatchers reported sightings of the whale, noting that it seemed to be moving more freely despite the residual entanglement.

On Tuesday, 2 July, the whale was spotted again off Walker Bay, heading towards Gansbaai. The NSRI and SAWDN launched their crafts to attempt a final removal of the remaining line. However, heavy sea conditions made it too dangerous to proceed. The line appeared loose, and the whale was swimming freely. Mike Meyer of SAWDN stated, "The line left behind appears to be loose, and the whale is moving freely. We are continuing to monitor to see if the opportunity arises to get the last bit of line off the whale."

Reflecting on the impact of their efforts, van Rensburg added, “The huge difference it made as we got these lines cut off was remarkable. You could clearly see the movements of the whale improve. The barnacle growth on the whale actually started disappearing. That’s one of the bigger joys of being able to get these lines off.”

- Herman Eloff