Images show baby humpback whale trapped in shark net off Queensland coast

Whale was freed but marine charity says proposed new laws would have made it illegal to highlight the distress of the animal

Luke Henriques-Gomes

Tue 9 Oct 2018 07.16 BSTLast modified on Tue 9 Oct 2018 07.55 BST

Extraordinary photographs that revealed a baby humpback whale caught in a shark net on the Gold Coast could not have been taken under new laws proposed by the Queensland government, two environmental groups have said.

The baby whale is seen entangled in the shark net in photos and video released by the Humane Society International and the Australian Marine Conservation Society on Tuesday.

The groups also released images of an endangered baby scalloped hammerhead shark that was tangled and drowned in a shark net off the Gold Coast on 4 October.

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Humpback whale calf dies in shark net on Sydney beach

A spokeswoman from marine rescue group ORRCA said the group was called to Mona Vale beach around 7am (AEDT) on Tuesday. ORRCA vice-president Shona Lorigan said the whale was dead when NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service officers arrived around 10am (AEDT).

The parks and wildlife service will now determine how to remove the whale.

The calf's mother had been swimming nearby, responding to the baby's distress calls.

Humane Society International spokeswoman Alexia Wellbelove said shark nets were "indiscriminate killers" of marine life and provided no real protection for humans. She said it was the first whale entanglement in NSW this year but urged more research into other possible shark deterrence methods.

"This is a tragedy that we don't want to see repeated," she said. "We're getting a growing number of entanglements each year." Lorigan said dolphins and turtles also became entangled in shark nets.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/22/humpback-whale-calf-dies-in-shark-net-on-sydney-beach

Monster shark found off Bar Beach

The body of a four meter-long great white shark was discovered in shark netting on Newcastle's Bar Beach yesterday morning.

The creature was initially towed to the Newcastle Fisherman's Co-Op due to an inability to lift the remains from the water with a commercial vessel.

Now, the shark's carcass is now being held at the Port Stephens Fisheries Research Centre, where it will be "analysed as part scientific research purposes," (or is it porpoises?).

Representatives for the centre said that the shark netting acts as important preventative device.

"The nets are not set as a barrier, but rather as a technique that deters dangerous sharks from establishing a territory and reduces the risk to swimmers," said a spokesperson.

"This program is very successful."

No word on whether or not we are going to need a bigger boat, though...

By Carl Gregory (Cross Media Reporter)
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/10/21/3345298.htm

Humpback Whale killed in shark nets off Durban

Shark net mortality being reduced by new measures
October 2011. On Monday 10 October 2011 a male humpback whale calf measuring 7.9m washed up on the beach at Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu-Natal. From the presence of netting material around the calf it was apparent that it had become entangled in one of the protective shark nets set off this popular bathing beach to reduce the risk of shark attack.

The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZNSB) investigates every report of a whale that may be in distress and it has a 100% record of releasing entangled animals found alive. Three specialised and well equipped whale release teams carry out the hazardous task. Unfortunately in this particular case the whale calf was not seen at the time it encountered the nets and hence no release was possible. It is suspected that the entanglement occurred during the hours of darkness because the Umhlanga beach is overlooked by numerous high-rise buildings and a daytime entanglement would have been observed.

Measures to reduce entanglement in shark nets
The KZNSB has implemented various measures that reduce the risk of entanglement of whales and other marine animals that pose no threat to bathers. These measures included:

• The reduction in the total length of netting on the KZN coast from 45 km to 23 km.
• Some nets have been replaced with drumlines, more selective shark fishing devices that catch very few non-shark animals. It is hoped that further replacement will occur.
• Whakle alarms have been attached to a number of the shark nets to alert the animals to their presence and hopefully reduce the risk of entanglement.
• KZNSB lifts the nets during the annual sardine run in June and July to reduce catches of predators accompanying the sardine shoals. Humpback whales are not known to predate on sardines on the KZN coast but the sardine run coincides with the northward migration of the whales.

Read on...