Fishers and boaties are being urged to report any further sightings of a humpback whale entangled in rope after it was spotted by students off the Otago coast yesterday.
The group was on a postgraduate field trip making observations of seabirds and marine mammals when they spotted the whale about 10 kilometres east of Karitane.
The whale had rope wrapped around its body and tail and was trailing a buoy that appeared to be from a fishing vessel. University personnel reported the sighting to the Department of Conservation.
Will Rayment of the University of Otago’s Department of Marine Science says at this time of year humpback whales begin their northward migration from summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic to winter breeding grounds in the tropics, sometimes taking them past the New Zealand coast.
"With species like humpbacks and southern right whales now recovering after the ban on commercial whaling we are seeing more and more whales in our coastal waters,” Mr Rayment said.
“It's pretty distressing to see a large whale entangled like this, knowing that it is suffering and that the consequences might be very bad. It was spending more time at, or just below, the surface than I would expect, suggesting that its diving ability was inhibited,” he said.
Fishers and boaties are urged to keep an eye out for the entangled whale and report any further sightings as soon as possible.
DOC has urged people not to attempt any disentanglement themselves, saying this is very dangerous. A specialist disentanglement team will attempt to remove the ropes from the whale if it is sighted again.
Anyone who sees the entangled whale should call DOC’s 24-hour hotline 0800 DOCHOT/0800 36 24 68.
The entangled humpback could be seen off the South Island’s east coast in the coming days as it makes the annual humpback whale migration north to tropical waters.
Mr Rayment said positive news on increasing whale numbers does mean challenges like this one could become more frequent.
“More whales means greater overlap with human impacts such as fishing, and an increased risk of entanglements like this one," he said.
"We need to start thinking about where and when these overlaps will occur so that we can manage the conflicts before they become too serious."
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