Home News Humpback freed from netting off Shornecliffe

Humpback freed from netting off Shornecliffe

Helicopter footage of the trapped whale was captured by Dave Andrews, a Channel Seven traffic reporter, and shared on YouTube yesterday. Image credit: Dave Andrews

A 12-METRE HUMPBACK whale has been freed this morning, after becoming trapped in netting and beaching in shallow waters off Shornecliffe in Brisbane yesterday.

According to reports, the whale was caught in 20m of mesh netting in less than a metre of water in Moreton Bay. A rescue operation followed, in which Queensland Marine Parks rangers managed to cut the net, and the whale freed itself when the tide changed.

“It is a fantastic result and resolved very quickly,” Steve Hoseck, from Marine Parks, told the ABC.

“The net certainly did encumber the whale, there were a few marks around the tail where the net was attached. But nothing too serious, but that could have led to its beaching.

“The bay there is also very shallow, so with the big tides we have at the moment, and it could have just run out of water,” he said.

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