An entangled juvenile humpback whale reported off Wilsons Promontory has sparked questions over the response from authorities, after the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF) says it stood ready to assist.
The Prom Coast News understands the CPWF vessel Bandero was docked at Port Welshpool preparing for a Southern Ocean voyage last week when word came through that a young humpback, believed to be the same whale earlier sighted entangled off Jervis Bay on February 5, had been reported off the Prom.
With experienced crew on board trained in whale disentanglement, CPWF informed the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) of its intention to help. According to CPWF, while the crew was mobilising it was advised by DEECA not to approach within 200 metres of the whale and was told a government response would be staged.
In response to questions from PCN about whether DEECA only acted after CPWF flagged its own rescue plans, the foundation said: “To the best of CPWF’s knowledge, no other actions to release the entangled whale had commenced until after the Bandero crew had communicated its intent to do so.”
DEECA subsequently deployed spotter aircraft over three days in an effort to relocate the whale, but the animal was not found.
Asked whether the aerial search was sufficient, CPWF said it was not aware of the full extent of DEECA’s operation, adding that its own crew “would have kept searching until it found the whale or, at least, exhausted the available resources.”
It is now a week since the reported Prom sighting. CPWF said the whale was understood to be young, injured and likely weakened, but declined to speculate on its chances of survival.
PCN has contacted DEECA for comment. As of going to press, no response had been received. David Barrett
