Humpback whale calf dies off NSW coast while entangled in shark net | Whales
A humpback whale calf was found dead after getting caught in a shark net off the coast of New South Wales.
The 8m baby whale was found wrapped in a net in the waters between Coledale and Wombarra, north of Wollongong, on Tuesday.
It is the 15th whale to be caught in shark nets along Australia’s east coast this year and the first whale confirmed dead, believed to have drowned during its migration south to Antarctica.
A spokesman for the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said contractors making shark nets found the deceased whale during a routine inspection on Tuesday morning.
“DPIRD had not received any reports of whale entanglements at Coledale prior to this,” they said, adding that no other whale entanglements had been reported in NSW shark nets this year. But in June, a whale shark became entangled in the drum line off Nobby beach in Newcastle.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Australia’s Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Organization (ORRCA) and Marine Rescue NSW responded and found the child on Tuesday afternoon. the net was tangled around its tail and side fin.
“Everyone involved did their best to save the deceased whale,” Marine Rescue NSW inspector Stuart Massey said.
“Our plan was to take the carcass to a place where it could be removed from the water,” he said. Shortly before 3 p.m., “the combination of unfavorable sea conditions and proximity to the rocks and coastline caused it to become unsafe for our ship and crew to remain there, so we were forced to abandon it.”
The whale carcass washed ashore on Tuesday night. ORRCA said in a statement: “The cause of death is unknown at this stage and will remain unclear until a post-mortem examination has been carried out.”
There are 51 shark nets in NSW equipped with acoustic “whale alarms” and “dolphin pings”. A DPIRD spokesperson said the devices “emit a high-frequency sound wave that draws mammals away from the area and reduces the likelihood of wandering.”
“The NSW government will continue to investigate new shark mitigation technologies designed to minimize impacts on marine animals while protecting beachgoers.”
The whale drowning has reignited calls for the NSW government to end its shark nets programme.
“It is absolutely heartbreaking to see a baby humpback whale die in this way, especially as his death was completely preventable,” said NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann.
“Every year when the nets come in we see more whales and other wildlife such as dolphins, endangered loggerhead turtles and critically endangered gray nurse sharks being trapped, injured or killed.
Dr., who conducts research on marine mammals at Griffith University. Olaf Meynecke said there was little evidence that shark nets prevented shark bites in the past. He said the “massive removal of sharks along beaches as a mitigation measure” had done little to reduce the risk.
Whale calves are at higher risk of becoming entangled and drowning, Meynecke said. “We know they are unaware of the dangers of networks.” He said whales develop experience over time and learn to communicate about dangerous places.
A young whale “will panic very quickly and if you are offshore there is a risk of drowning”.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said in a statement: “Governments can help keep oceangoers safe by strengthening investment in today’s alternatives to outdated and ineffective shark nets and drum lines.
“These include financial support for shark shield personal deterrent devices, shark spotter programs, eco-shark barriers, bite-resistant wetsuits, and improved public education. A 2017 Senate inquiry into shark risk reduction recommended that the federal government show national leadership in directing this investment, but this has so far been ignored.”
Whish-Wilson also called on the federal government to remove the exemption in the national environmental law that allows state-controlled shark culling programs.
“Federal law enables the state-sanctioned animal cruelty we see on our Queensland and NSW coastlines through a dangerous and outdated EPBC exemption.
“It is time to end the world’s longest marine cull and put an end to this barbaric government-sanctioned animal cruelty.”
