St Francis Chronicle, Edited: The NSRI Gqeberha, station 6 and it s trained SAWDN (SA Whale Disentanglement Network) crew yesterday rescued a Humpback whale entangled in fishing rope offshore of PE in dangerous conditions – with as many as five whale spectators close by during the rescue operation at one stage!
Kevin Warren, NSRI Gqeberha coxswain, said at 9.06 yesterday morning, NSRI Gqeberha station 6 rescue base duty volunteer duty members were alerted by SAWDN for a whale disentanglement operation with trained NSRI SAWDN crew and to prepare SAWDN specialised gear and cutting equipment. SAWDN had earlier received reports from the Lusitania fishing boat, Louisa-Claire, about the entangled whale.
The NSRI rescue crafts, Bay Guardian, and Eddie Beaumont II, with trained NSRI SAWDN crew, gear and specialised equipment, plus extra fuel, on board were launched. The fishing vessel Louisa-Claire skipper and its crew guided NSRI rescue craft to the location.
On reaching the whale 15 nautical miles South of Cape Recife, in open water, it was found that a large Humpback whale was entangled in fishing rope that trailed a floatation buoy and that appeared to be anchored to the seabed by one of the fishing ropes.
A seal was on the scene swimming around and another large Humpback whale , probably the trapped whale’s mate, was close by on the scene. The trapped whale was swimming around in wide circles as it was anchored to the seabed by one of the fishing lines.
NSRI rescue craft Eddie Beaumont II moved in for closer inspection and crew discovered wraps of fishing rope around the fluke and wraps of fishing rope around the caudal peduncle (ie the narrow, stem-like part where the tail fin is attached). Plus there was a big mess of fishing rope on the one side.
The disentanglement operation started in challenging and difficult conditions. The difficulty was that two more Humpback whales arrived on the scene seemingly concerned for the well-being of the entangled whale, and the three whales kept getting in the way of the NSRI rescue craft.
Despite these extreme challenges the NSRI SAWDN crew managed to attach grappling hooks to one of the trailing lines with the attached rope carrying larger floatation buoys. This slowed the trapped whale’s movements a bit though but the whale still continued to swim around in circles – and the three onlooker whales continued to be in the way of the rescue craft.
The NSRI coxswain, however, expertly manoeuvred the rescue craft despite these challenges. Quite a number of cuts had to be made to entangled fishing rope and during the difficult operation, two cutting poles and a specialised cutting knife were lost.
And then more whale spectators arrived to take watch the activities! While cutting on the fishing rope at least 5 Orcas arrived on the scene. The seal left and the three Humpback whales appeared to chase the Orcas away as the latter whales disappeared.
The free-the-whale operation took four hours in extreme challenging condition. All rope was cut free and the fishing rope and flotation buoy were recovered from the sea for later disposal.
After the last fishing line anchored to the seabed was cut, the freed whale and its companions dived under water and swam off, not be seen again.
The crew remained on site for about half an hour but the whales did not return. The rescue teams returned to base at 5.43 pm yesterday.
The NSRI says the trapped whale had appeared healthy and strong during the freeing operation and the rescue ream are confident this SAWDN disentanglement operation was a success. The skipper and crew of the Lusitania fishing vessel, Louisa-Claire for swiftly raising the alarm, and for staying on the scene to guide us to the location. They played a vital role that contributed to the whale being saved.
(Editor’s note: Congratulations to all who helped save the whale!)
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