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Scientists use tracking devices to uncover quirky behaviour after humpback whales freed from nets
A Queensland marine rescue team says it has been one of the worst years on record for humpback whale entanglements.
The Gold Coast’s Sea World Foundation is dispatched to free humpback whales trapped in fishing lines and shark nets along the southern Queensland and New South Wales coastline.
This season, there have been 42 reported whale entanglements, 15 of which were successfully disentangled, according to rescuers.
Humpback whales travel up and down Australia’s east coast from June to October for their annual migration.
This sub-adult humpback was cut free by Fisheries and Sea World teams after about two hours. (Supplied: Sea World)
Marine scientist Olaf Meynecke said most entanglements involved fishing traps on the ocean floor.
“There are lots of lines they can’t see; it’s really hard for them to navigate around it,” Dr Meynecke said.
“If they’re not freed, they’re either stuck in that line and in the rope for all their life.”
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‘Minefield’ in the water
Rescue boat captain Andrew Mulville said he expected high numbers of entanglements in the future.
Authorities rescue a whale calf trapped in a shark net on the Sunshine Coast. (Supplied: Glenn Reeves)
“It’s like a minefield for them coming up our coastline, there are a lot of things for them to get entangled in,” he said.
“This year’s been very busy and the majority of that has been fishing gear.”
Dramatic whale rescue
Mr Mulville said it was not an easy task to disentangle a humpback, which can grow to 16 metres long.
“The animals are very distressed and highly strung, and they’ll let you know,” he said.
“All they want to do is get away from our boat, they usually show you with their body language but also vocalisation, it sounds like a screaming noise.
“It doesn’t always go to plan, and you see some horrific things.”
A whale calf caught in a shark net off Queensland in 2018. (Supplied: Humane Society International)
Tracking technology
The job is not over once a whale is disentangled, with the crew tracking the whales’ movements once they have been freed.
Dr Meynecke uses a 5-metre-long pole and suction cups to attach a tracking device and camera to the whales’ flank.
Olaf Meynecke and Andrew Mulville have been working with whales for more than a decade. (ABC Gold Coast: Julia André)
The device has a pin that corrodes four hours after it enters the water, allowing the tracker to pop off the whale to allow researchers to collect the data.
“We’re trying to understand their movement patterns, where most of the whales are getting entangled, and what kind of gear is impacting these whales,” he said.
Dr Meynecke said the tracking devices had uncovered several whale behaviours.
They include “heat runs”, where multiple male whales chase a female into the Gold Coast’s bay and compete for her attention so they can mate.
The team has also captured “sand-rolling”, where the whales roll themselves along the sea floor to exfoliate their gigantic bodies.
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