Rescue teams are increasingly worried about a humpback whale off the coast of New South Wales, which has become entangled and has gone missing amid inclement weather. The Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) first spotted the whale, dragging a rope with a coloured buoy, north of Cape Byron on Wednesday morning.
By Thursday, crews managed to sever a short section of the rope, but harsh conditions hampered further attempts to assist the whale. Initially, ORRCA believed the whale would continue its journey north towards southeast Queensland; however, it has instead headed south along the New South Wales coastline.
Recent reports indicate the whale was last observed passing Sydney over the weekend and is thought to be navigating between Port Kembla and Culburra Beach, south of Wollongong. “The whale is currently moving south, which is unusual for this time of year,” noted ORRCA spokesperson Pip Jacobs, explaining that humpbacks typically migrate north around this period.
Residents along the south coast are encouraged to keep an eye out and report any sightings as the whale may reach Ulladulla, situated east of Canberra, by this evening. As of today, Jacobs confirmed no additional sightings have been recorded, and while it’s anticipated that the whale could be near Ulladulla during sunset, precise predictions are challenging without more sightings.
Rescue efforts are complicated by extremely windy conditions at sea, which hinder the search for the whale. Both ORRCA and local volunteers are actively looking along the coastline, and should a sighting occur, teams are prepared to conduct a disentanglement operation.