Rescuers free trapped humpback whale at Fish Hoek
AHUMPBACKwhale about 8m long was freed after it became anchored to the sea bed by Whelk trap lines, about 100m offshore of Sunny Cove in Fish Hoek.
The SA Whale Disentanglement Network was activated after the whale appeared to be in difficulty at about 3.30pm on Saturday.
Officials initially thought the whale was basking in the sun earlier in the day. The operation carried on until late at night.
The humpback was spotted by Capri resident Brent Walton, who was jogging along the Fish Hoek catwalk at about 8am on Saturday.
Attendants from the SA Navy were also placed on alert to assist due to the severity and the desperation of the rescue operation.
The network’s spokesperson Craig Lambinon said a rope appeared to be entangled around the whale’s tail.
“The line was anchored to the sea bed between the Whelk traps and had snarled around the tail, effectively meaning that the whale’s tail was trapped underwater to the sea bed,” he said.
Only the front part of the whale could reach the surface for air.
“At the earlier high tide, we suspect that the whale had the strength to pull on the rope hard enough to surface the top part of its body for air.
With the whale appearing to be tired and lethargic, it became a race against time to try to cut the rope from the tail, which was at least six to seven metres below the surface and out of reach of the specialised cutting poles,” he said.
In another rescue, a pen- guin was saved after experiencing difficulty in Simon’s Town yesterday.
Lambinon said officials used a large net to safely capture the penguin with less stress to the animal.
“It appears that the penguin had been heavily oiled. The penguin appeared to be dark in colour and seemed to only be able to swim in circles while flapping one wing,” said Lambinon.