A juvenile humpback whale has been found dead after becoming entangled in a shark net off the New South Wales coast.<\/p>\n
The 8-metre whale, estimated to be two years old, was found wrapped in netting north of Wollongong on Tuesday, in waters between Coledale and Wombarra.<\/p>\n
It is the 15th whale entangled in shark nets along Australia\u2019s east coast this year and the first whale to be confirmed dead, believed to have drowned on its migration south to Antarctica.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the NSW department of primary industries and regional development said shark meshing contractors found the deceased whale during a routine inspection on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cDPIRD did not receive any reports of a whale entanglement at Coledale prior to this,\u201d they said, adding that no other whale entanglements in NSW shark nets had been reported this year. However, In June, a whale became tangled in a shark drumline off Nobby\u2019s beach in Newcastle.<\/p>\n
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) and Marine Rescue NSW responded on Tuesday afternoon, finding the juvenile with net tangled around its tail and side fin.<\/p>\n
An NPWS spokesperson said: \u201cThe whale is estimated to be around two years old, weaned and independent from its mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone involved tried their best to disentangle the deceased whale,\u201d said Marine Rescue NSW inspector Stuart Massey.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plan was to take the carcass to a location where it could be removed from the water,\u201d he said. Shortly before 3pm, \u201cthe combination of unfavourable sea conditions and the proximity to rocks and the shoreline meant it was becoming unsafe for our vessel and crew to remain there, so we were forced to abandon\u201d.<\/p>\n