New Zealand whale freed from fishing net in ‘particularly dangerous’ multi-day operation

A whale that became entangled in a large fishing net and was dragging four buoys and 100 metres of rope behind its tail has been cut free after a complex multi-day rescue operation off the southern coast of New Zealand.

The nine-metre-long southern right whale, or tohorā in Māori, was first spotted by fishers on Saturday morning near the country’s southern island, Rakiura.

It is the first time a southern right whale has been recorded entangled in New Zealand waters, and the rescue required an advanced level of expertise, said Jennifer Ross, the Department of Conservation’s (DOC) Rakiura operations manager.

The whale did not appear to be in immediate danger but was showing signs of distress and was at risk of infection from a wound on its tail, the Department of Conservation said.

Zac Penman, DOC’s expert in large whale disentanglement, was at a surfing competition in Kaikoura, some 800km away, when he got the call for help.

“Being a southern right whale, it was something we had never dealt with before … as soon as I heard that I started to formulate a plan in my head about how we might possibly deal with the scenario,” he said.

The department and southern right whale experts located the animal on Monday, where a cod pot at the end of the rope had caught on the rocks below and tethered the whale to one spot. They attached a satellite tracking buoy to monitor its location as they decided on the best course of action.

“Tohorā are among the most difficult whale species to disentangle,” said Ross. “They are large, extremely strong and incredibly mobile – this makes any attempt to free them particularly dangerous.”

“Tohorā can change direction quickly, roll 180 degrees, and swim backwards. They’re more unpredictable than other whale species. A whale disentanglement is never straightforward, but this one was particularly complex.”

On Monday night the satellite tracker showed the whale was moving north towards the port of Bluff, but the department was unsure if the tracker had fallen off the whale and was being pushed around in the tide.

“Plans never go quite to plan,” Penman said. “Overnight the whale managed to break the rope off of the pot and swim about 25 miles (40km) from Rakiura back to Bluff.”

On Tuesday morning, the disentanglement team arrived at the Bluff ferry terminal, where they asked the ferry to make a short detour to the tracker’s last recorded location. “The crew agreed, and because of that detour we were able to get eyes on the whale, and save crucial hours in the day,” Ross said.

The team caught up with the whale by boat just after 4pm.

“We really slowly, really cautiously pulled ourselves up the rope towards it,” Penman says. “When we first got to the end of the whale it realised we were there and let out one big blow – called a trumpet – and you can feel it in your bones.”

“You think, ‘holy moly, I’m in the presence of something so much bigger than me’…it’s about the size of four or five elephants, so it’s something you don’t want to stress out.”

The whale then turned to look at the boat with one of its big red eyes, which Penman said was “incredible”.

“It makes you feel very small … it’s like looking at the stars, just knowing there is so much more behind that eye.”

The group spent 45 minutes cutting the whale free from the rope and watched as it swam off into the sunset. “We returned to the big boat pretty elated and happy … then we headed back to Rakiura for a well-deserved beer at the pub.”

There are thought to be roughly 1,000-5,000 tohorā in New Zealand waters and they are a taonga (sacred) species for the South Island’s largest iwi (tribe), Ngāi Tahu. The whales suffered dramatic population loss due to whaling and came close to extinction but their population is starting to increase, according to the department. They are recognisable for their arched mouths, v-shaped blow-hole spray and lack of dorsal fin.

“This is an animal that every single one in this population counts,” Penman said. “They were whaled nearly to extinction and being able to do this one thing for this one animal is just something incredible.”

Ross said it was an excellent outcome but also a reminder to fishers to set only as much line as they need, particularly as many whale species are migrating at this time of year.

The department thanked those who had been involved in the whale’s rescue.

“Whale disentanglement is extremely dangerous and should never be attempted by anyone without the right training and gear,” Ross said.

“But people reporting sightings quickly has meant we’re able to get the right people in place to try and free the whale.”