A baby humpback whale was rescued after it became tangled in buoy and cray pot lines in New Zealand’s Wellington Harbour yesterday.

Fishermen called police after finding the whale in Fitzroy Bay, near the entrance to Wellington Harbour at about 9am.

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation then sent a specialist whale rescue team from Kaikoura in the South Island to assist.

The crew flew into Wellington before heading out to meet the whale on a police boat.

Constable Kyle Smith, from the Wellington Police Maritime Unit, told the Dominion Post they were able to free the whale at around 5.30pm after a few hours cutting at the ropes.

"It was entangled in the cray pots and the buoy. It was just a baby whale, a juvenile, and having difficulty and it was in a little bit of distress," Constable Smith said.