WATCH: NSRI rescues 12m southern right whale

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National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) crews rescued a 12-metre southern right whale entangled with rope and a flotation buoy around the tail between Palmiet and Kleinmond. After midday on Sunday, NSRI Hermanus duty crew were activated following numerous calls from witnesses reporting a whale appearing to be entangled in flotation buoys and rope between Palmiet and Kleinmond. The sea rescue craft South Star, crewed by NSRI Hermanus crew Deon Langenhoven and James Janse van Rensburg, Bennett’s Coetzee and Charl Henn, and the sea rescue craft Jaytee III, crewed by NSRI Hermanus crew Jean le Roux, Alwyn Geldenhuys and Andre Barnard, were launched carrying the SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) cutting gear. On arrival on the scene, 50m offshore of Kleinmond, they found an approximately 12m southern right whale entangled with rope and a flotation buoy around the tail. The sea rescue craft Jaytee III was attached to the whale, then using the cutting equipment all rope and the flotation buoy, were cut from the whale and recovered in calm sea conditions and the whale swum away appearing to be healthy, and the operation has without doubt been successful.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said NSRI teams have participated in entanglement efforts three or four times this year. All were carried out successfully, with none of the animals dying.

“All over the world they do the same kind of thing. But this is not something we do very often. When we do the operations, they are successful," he said.

He said the day before, the NSRI also made a rescue while conducting maritime training exercises in Simon’s Town, after a bird was found entangled in fishing gut and later freed.

Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing said people who cut floating buoys from fishing gear, with the intention of removing the gear in which whales and other marine mammals may become entangled, may be doing more harm than good.

The department's fisheries management branch said it was alerted that some concerned citizens are cutting buoys from fishing gear in False Bay .

The floating buoys are markers which mark the ends of lines of fishing gear lying along the sea floor.

Removing the floating buoys may result in slower times to find and retrieve the fishing gear by the fishers, thus increasing the opportunity for entanglement of whales and other marine animals the department explained.