The search for a humpback whale entangled in rope off Barwon Heads was called off yesterday due to deteriorating weather conditions.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) declared the emergency after confirming reports of a whale entangled in rope on Friday morning.
“A helicopter was deployed at 7.30am to search the whale’s last known location near Barwon Heads,” incident controller Tim Gazzard said:
“A fixed-wing plane also surveyed waters between Aireys Inlet and Cape Liptrap in Gippsland, however the whale was unable to be located.
“The predicted weather change will impact on our search location, bringing strong winds and rain, which is making conditions on the water difficult.
“The operation to search for the whale has been suspended for today, as these deteriorating weather conditions are impacting visibility and pose a safety risk to our staff.
“Forecasts suggest we will not be able to resume the search for at least five days due to predicted rain, strong winds and rough sea conditions.
“Based on the time of year, we expect the whale will continue to migrate up the east coast of Australia and is likely to be outside of Victorian waters by the time the weather abates.”
Anyone who sees the whale in coming days is urged to report the sighting to the Whale and Dolphin Hotline on 1300 136 017.
“This will help us monitor the whale’s location and assist with tracking the whale’s movements along the Victorian coast.
“The process to free a whale from an entanglement is a complicated and risky task,” Mr Gazzard said.
“Our goal has been to locate and free the whale as quickly as possible, but we need favourable sea and weather conditions to ensure the response is safe for our staff and considers the whale’s welfare.”
