Juvenile Humpback Whale Freed from Fishing Rope off Cape Recife

Stephen van den Berg, NSRI Gqeberha duty coxswain, said: At 10h00, Sunday, 14 September, NSRI Gqeberha and the SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) volunteers were alerted to reports to NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) of a juvenile Humpback whale entangled in fishing rope.

A local fishing vessel was on the scene where the 8.5 to 9 meter whale had become entangled in their fishing rope.

The fishing vessel skipper and crew were attempting to assist to free the whale from the fishing rope and requested assistance, 18 nautical miles South of Cape Recife.

2 NSRI rescue craft, Rescue 6 Alpha and Eddie Beaumont II, accompanied by NSRI SAWDN trained crew, the SAWDN specialised cutting equipment and extra fuel, were launched.

Telkom Maritime Radio Services assisted with marine VHF radio communications.

On arrival on the scene we found the whale calm, appearing to be tired, and docile, with multiple wraps of fishing rope entangling the whale around the tail.

The fishing vessel skipper and crew were hard at work, trying their best to free the whale from the entanglement.

The NSRI rescue craft were manoeuvred into position where the NSRI trained SAWDN crew set to work, using the specialised cutting equipment, where following multiple cuts to the fishing rope entanglement all fishing rope was cut free and recovered.

After being freed of the entanglement the young whale seemed to take a while to rest and gather strength before swimming off confidently.

The fishing vessel skipper and crew are commended for their care and assistance.

We are confident of the success of this whale disentanglement operation that was completed at 15h00.
 

The South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) was established in 2006 in order to manage entangled whales using specialised equipment and is comprised of trained volunteers from the - National Sea Rescue Institute, Telkom Maritime Radio Services, KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, Department of Environment, Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) Centre for Sustainable Oceans at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Nature, Mammal Research Institute, South African National Parks, South African Police Service, Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, 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