Whale rescued by Australian Coast Guard off the coast of Noosa

Heartwarming moment a humpback whale calf is freed from shark nets off a popular beach

  • A baby whale was stuck in a shark net off Laguna Bay, in Noosa, Queensland 
  • Footage showed Coast Guard on a boat attempting to free the animal
  • Eventually the whale was rescued and swam over the net without issue 

A humpback whale calf has been freed after becoming trapped in a shark net.

The baby whale was caught in the net at Laguna Bay, in Noosa, Queensland, before it was rescued on Thursday morning.

Video footage showed the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol’s Marine Animal Release Team on a boat attempting to free the animal from where it was stuck.

The baby whale was caught in the net at Laguna Bay, in Noosa, Queensland, before it was rescued

Video footage showed the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol's Marine Animal Release Team on a boat attempting to free the animal from where it was stuck

Video footage showed the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol’s Marine Animal Release Team on a boat attempting to free the animal from where it was stuck

The whale thrashed about as the rescuers used a pole with a large blade attached in an attempt to help dislodge it.

Eventually the whale was rescued and swam over the net without issue. 

The whale was a humpback calf, according to the ABC. 

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officer Guy Ely told Daily Mail Australia the whale was released at 9.45am after it was reported at 7am.

‘The whale was breathing and in a calm condition while it was being released and swam away strongly with its mother who was waiting nearby,’ Mr Ely said.

‘Today’s successful release is another demonstration of the expertise of our MART crews, located at Mackay, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, who are very skilled in safe release techniques for these animals.’  

The whale’s mother was nearby during the entire ordeal and the pair swam away together afterwards.

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officer Guy Ely told Daily Mail Australia the whale was released at 9.45am after it was reported at 7am

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officer Guy Ely told Daily Mail Australia the whale was released at 9.45am after it was reported at 7am

But social media users were angry about the fact the majestic creature had been caught in the shark net at all.

‘Lets take a petition to council to get [the shark nets] removed,’ one person commented,

Another said: ‘Remove the b***dy nets in whale season! There’s usually no one swimming anyway cause it’s too cold.’

A third person echoed the sentiment and said that the nets needed to be removed due to the harm they cause to marine animals. 

Mr Ely said whale entanglements are rare, with only 55 stuck since 2006 and MART only failing to rescue two. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk