KNYSNA NEWSFLASH - At 09:30, Sunday 1 October, the SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) were alerted by a passing vessel reporting to be 45 nautical off-shore between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, that they had come across a whale entangled in rope which seemed to have anchored it to the sea bed.

The NSRI Plettenberg Bay sea rescue craft Leonard Smith, accompanied by SAWDN volunteers and carrying the SAWDN specialised cutting equipment launched from Plettenberg Bay at 12:20.

The NSRI Knysna sea rescue craft Colorpress Rescuer launched from Knysna to respond as a back-up safety boat.

Both sea rescue craft arrived at the GPS coordinates (that were provided by the skipper of the passing vessel) at the same time where SAWDN volunteers found a juvenile Humpback whale, which was approximately 14 metres long, anchored to the sea bed with fishing rope around its tail and a single flotation buoy.

The SAWDN volunteers got to work and the line around the tail was cut which freed the whale from the anchored entrapment and then the flotation buoy was cut.

All lines and the buoy cut free were recovered.

The cutting operation took 20 minutes before the whale was freed from the rope and buoys, but then the whale swam off confidently.

“We are confident that the operation was successful and the whale appears to be healthy. This is the furthest out to sea that a SAWDN operation has been conducted,” said Craig Lambinon, national spokesperson for the NSRI.

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