A humpback whale has been freed after being stranded for 24 hours at Wallis Lake estuary on the New South Wales Mid North Coast.
The juvenile whale, which weighed about 12 tonnes, was first sighted on Sunday afternoon swimming under the Forster Tuncurry Bridge before becoming lodged on a sandbar in Wallis Lake last night.
Crews from Sea World travelled from the Gold Coast today to assist NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) and local Marine Rescue NSW volunteers in carrying out the rescue.
NPWS Manning Great Lakes acting area manager Doug Beckers said the expertise of the Sea World team was essential in freeing the whale, which rescuers said was in good health.
He said they first tried to drive the mammal off the sandbar.
“What we tried to do was scare it off the sandbar by approaching it from the rear and frightening it forward, but that didn’t work,” Mr Beckers said.
After the low tide, the juvenile whale was still stranded on a sandbar in Walllis Lake. (Supplied: Sea World)
Mr Beckers said rescuers then used a sling tow to drag the whale off the sandbar, but it became stuck on another shortly afterwards.
But he said the second attempt was successful.
“The crews had to come and bring these big straps, put them underneath the pectoral fins and attach them to the boat,” he said.
“The Sea World boat could then actually drag it off the shoal, and it worked.”
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The whale was freed about 3pm today and was being guided by marine conservation vessels through the estuary’s sandbars.
“The whale is now free-swimming, and is being guided by those vessels towards the bridge here at Forster-Tuncurry, and hopefully it will go out to sea.”
After acknowledging public boat users for keeping their distance from the whale, Mr Beckers said motorists may also be called on to help.
“Should we need to close the Forster-Tuncurry Bridge temporarily, we may do that,” he said.
“As we found in 2021, we had a southern right whale inside [the estuary], and we found the bridge traffic was creating noise and disturbance, preventing that whale from going through.
“And we’re really grateful that the public can understand that we’re trying to do it for the welfare of the animal.”
Animal rescue teams met early this morning at Forster Boat Ramp to discuss plans for the stranded whale. (Supplied: ORRCA: Pip Jacobs)
ORRCA spokesperson Jessica Fox said the rescue was fantastic news.
“We still don’t know why it has come into the bay or what has happened,” Ms Fox said.
ORRCA urged boaters to avoid the area as the operations get underway, with an exclusion zone in place.
“It is really important in these operations that it is specifically trained people who are out there, and safety is incredibly important,” she said.