Whale in distress rescued by local fisherman and fisheries crew
Sub-adult humpback whale entangled in FAD | Photo credits: Facebook/Niue Blue
A sub-adult humpback whale was reported to be in dire need of help after local fisherman BJ Rex spotted the whale while out at sea just off the coast of Tuapa village last Thursday morning.
According to Niue Blue’s Facebook page, the whale was seen to be entangled with ropes from a Fish Aggregating Device (FAD).
“BJ was first on the scene and made an initial assessment of its condition, and it was clearly exhausted and unable to move,” says Niue Blue.
Two officers from the DAFF Fisheries department then arrived shortly after onto the scene and acted quickly to help the whale in distress.
Two of the Niue Blue divers were also in the water to capture footage of the event which took place.
The three-man team began their rescue by cutting the rope that had entangled the whale’s nose and tail.
A strenuous task it was for the team which required a lot of precision and careful consideration for the safety of the whale and those who were in the water.
But a great relief was seen after they successfully cut the rope and freed the whale watching as it swam away freely into the vast ocean.
