A small humpback whale caught with its tail fin in the so-called shark net off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland is free. The helpers fought for the lives of marine mammals for more than two days.
Although rescuers were unable to cut off some of the remnants of the nets, which were wrapped too tightly around the fin, the animal can now continue its annual migration relatively unhindered, the radio reported. 9 news.
Residents spotted the whale on Wednesday and alerted authorities. Since then, officials at the Ministry of Fisheries and the Marine World have worked tirelessly to get him out of his dangerous position. He was caught in a 200-meter net that was attached to two heavy anchors.
Discussion about shark nets
According to the authorities, the humpback whale got entangled in a shark net off the Coolangatta coast on the Gold Coast and dragged it south with it. The incident sparked fresh discussions about the use of nets to keep sharks off beaches. Animal rights activists are calling for these to be removed at least at the time of the whale migration along Australian coasts.
And the news site quoted him as saying that there are solutions to ensure the safety of beaches without endangering wildlife «news.com.au» Shark researcher Leonardo Guida. “They pulled out the nets and launched the drones into the air,” he said. It’s “very frustrating” to experience the same thing every year. Dozens of whales have been captured at the facilities in recent years.
On the part of the regional government, the safety of the swimmers was said to be the top priority – they want to hold on to the nets for now. However, the actual benefit of networks is controversial.
