A SPECIALIST marine disentanglement team has been unable to locate a juvenile humpback whale entangled in fishing gear off the Port MacDonnell coastline, with hopes fading authorities will be able to rescue the stricken mammal.
The Department for Environment and Water launched a rescue operation on Thursday, a day after the nine-metre whale was last seen heading east two nautical miles off the South East coast.
Poor weather conditions hindered rescuers on Thursday and Friday, with air and sea searches failing to locate the animal.
DEW spokesperson Dr Deb Kelly said Friday’s high winds and choppy seas would have made a rescue attempt extremely difficult, even if the whale had been located.
“Our whale disentanglement team is obviously disappointed that despite the best efforts of commercial fishers and PIRSA Fisheries officers, the animal has not been located,” Dr Kelly said.
“We’re asking people to report any sightings to DEW or PIRSA Fisheries and hope that we may still be able to undertake a rescue mission at some future stage.”
The department’s whale disentanglement team has returned to Adelaide, but specialist equipment remains in the South East temporarily in case the whale is seen again in the region.
