6 July 2011

The Department of Conservation has renewed its appeal to the public to look out for a humpback whale entangled in craypot line and buoy following a sighting of it off the Marlborough coast yesterday evening.

Anyone seeing an entangled humpback whale is asked to report it to the department’s emergency number 0800 DOCHOTline – 0800 36 24 68. It is thought the whale is likely to currently still be off the Marlborough coast though it might also be off the east or west coast of the North Island.

The humpback whale was seen trailing a buoy offshore from the mouth of the Ure River, south of Ward, by a member of the public just before darkness yesterday evening. It is thought to be the same whale seen with its tail fluke entangled in craypot line and buoy off Banks Peninsula on Monday 27 June. The whale wasn’t able to be found the next day when an attempt to disentangle it was to be made and an appeal was put out for sightings of it.

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DOC South Marlborough biodiversity programme manager Phil Bradfield said DOC staff were unable to go to the whale last night due to darkness and it wasn’t seen in an airplane search of the Marlborough coast this morning.

“We want people to let us know if they see the entangled humpback and we will attempt to disentangle it from the craypot line and buoy if we can.

“Anyone seeing the whale should not attempt to cut it free of the line and buoy themselves as it is dangerous.

“We have DOC staff and other local volunteers in Kaikoura trained in whale disentanglement techniques who could attempt to cut the line from the whale if it is seen and it is safe to do so.”

The procedure for cutting whales free can be slow and take several hours. For safety reasons it requires suitable sea conditions and sufficient daylight hours.

Mr Bradfield said the entangled whale was likely to be heading north as humpbacks migrate north to South Pacific breeding grounds at this time of year.

“It is likely the rope is impeding the whale’s movements and it is only able to slowly move north. This means it is likely to still be off the Marlborough coast but it would then move up either the east or west coast of the North Island and might be seen in those areas in coming days.

“It is likely to be distressed at being entangled and the rope could cause it injuries.”

ENDS

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