DOC suspends whale rescue op

The whale, with green rope around it. Photo / Department of Conservation

Department of Conservation staff attempting to free a humpback whale tangled in ropes in Doubtless Bay in the Far North have called off the operation for the night.

DOC staff from Kaitaia and Kaikoura were attempting to remove the rope using a technique called "kegging", where a grapnel hook with 50m of rope on the end is attached to the debris around the whale's head. Buoys attached to the end of the rope slow the whale down so the rope can safely be cut away by DOC staff.

DOC spokeswoman Carolyn Smith said "we managed to get a grapnel hook on to rope around the whale's tail at about 5.30pm nut the grapnel hope broke, which was very disappointing.

"With nightfall approaching we've had to call off the operation because we need at least two hours of daylight. We'll try again tomorrow morning."

DOC plans to send an aircraft and two boats out tomorrow to make a second attempt.

Humpback whales can grow up to 16 metres in length and weigh up to 40 tonnes, so great care is required in carrying out the operation to ensure safety, said Ms Smith.

Earlier today she said the kegging technique was potentially dangerous for staff and relatively new, having been used by DOC since only 2008.

The whale was first seen with rope wrapped around it near Mangonui at about 11.30am yesterday.

Ms Smith said the whale appeared to be larger than the seven metres it was first believed to be.

"It is moving rapidly and surfacing around every 30 seconds," she said.

Ms Smith said humpback whales often became caught in ropes as they were curious animals. In the past decade, she knew of 10 humpbacks which had become tangled in ropes, eight of which were tangled in crayfishing ropes.

This latest whale crisis comes only days after at least 70 pilot whales stranded on Spirits Bay in the Far North. After the surviving whales were driven an hour south to Rarawa Beach to be refloated, 14 were saved.

- with NZ Herald staff, NZPA