Efforts to free the humpback whale entangled in fishing tackle lasted several hours yesterday before darkness fell, and have been going for several hours this morning.
I have just spoken to Jessica Fox, the second vice-president of the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), who is on the scene. (She is a different Jessica Fox to the Olympian, though she does enjoy kayaking).
Fox said the rescue workers had specialised equipment including a grappling hook on a long pole. When the time was right, they would use it to hold the whale while other crew members tried to cut the rope away from the whale’s tail.
Right now, the whale has been moving too quickly and erratically, though it was slower than yesterday.
Fox said the sweet spot was when the whale needed to slow down enough for the team to disentangle it, while also not becoming so tired that it was a health risk.
This whale is young, and it has been moving quite erratically. Yesterday, it was witnessed thrashing about a lot and quick changes of directions and things like that, so it was a really risky and dangerous situation for anybody trying to disentangle that whale yesterday.
Today, it is witnessed moving more slowly at times … but then it does seem to have bursts of energy and and it’s moving quite quickly around as well, so which just does make it a bit more tricky for those who are trying to rescue it.
