The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) in South Africa launched an operation in early September to save a large whale entangled in fishing rope off the coast of Cape Recife.
In response to reports of the whale entanglement, two craft from the South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) were dispatched from Gqeberha. The boats had a specially trained crew and were equipped with specialized cutting gear. The fishing boat, which first reported the entangled whale, stayed on site for the duration to help guide the rescue teams.
After a four-hour operation in arduous and testing conditions, the team successfully freed the tethered whale, which then quietly returned to its life in the ocean.
Commenting on the rescue, NSRI Gqeberha coxswain Kevin Warren gave a firsthand account of the operation, stating:
“We found a large humpback whale entangled in fishing rope trailing a flotation buoy and appearing to be anchored to the seabed by one of the ropes. A seal was also found to be on the scene, swimming around – and what appeared to be the casualty whale’s mate, another large humpback whale, was close by.
“While cutting on the fishing rope at least five orcas then arrived on the scene – we assume they had come to take a look at what was going on. By that stage, the seal had left and the three humpback whales that had remained on the scene appeared to chase the orcas away.
“When we finally cut away the last fishing line that was anchored to the seabed the affected whale and the remaining whales dived under water and swam off, not to be seen again…We’re confident of the success of this SAWDN disentanglement operation.”
