It is peak whale season on the Ningaloo coast, and this week it turned grim. A nine-metre humpback has died after becoming tangled in fishing line off Western Australia, and the animal's carcass has forced the closure of two of the region's best-known swimming and snorkelling spots.
Officers from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) found the whale on 8 July, emaciated and heavily bound in gear. They managed to attach a satellite tag but lost the light before they could attempt to cut it free.
"The team attached a satellite tag prior to last light with the plan to return and attempt a disentanglement the next morning however the whale passed away," a DBCA spokesperson said.
The death was not the only entanglement. Reports and drone imagery gathered through the week pointed to a cluster of animals caught along the same coast as the humpback migration moved through.
"Based on reports and imagery collected throughout the week, it appears there were at least four and possibly five separate whales involved," the spokesperson said.
Once the carcass washed onto Mandu reef, sharks moved in. North Mandu and Oyster Stacks, both inside the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo marine park, were shut to the public while the carcass stayed in the water.
The WA cluster came in a week when rescue crews were stretched on the other side of the continent too. In New South Wales, National Parks and Wildlife Service teams freed a 14.5-metre humpback wrapped in rope, netting and buoys off Forresters Beach, one of several entanglements reported on a single day.
"Every successful disentanglement is the result of extensive training, careful planning and teamwork," said Mitch Carter, acting director of the service's Hunter Central Coast branch. "The quick reporting of the entanglement, favourable conditions and the ability to confirm the nature of the entanglement using drone footage all contributed to a rapid and successful response."
The message from wildlife agencies to anglers is consistent: secure and retrieve gear during the migration, never approach an entangled whale, and phone it in -- the Wildcare Helpline in WA or ORRCA in NSW -- so specialists can respond safely.
