Whale freed from shark nets off Umhlanga
The KZN Sharks Board has managed to free a whale from shark safety gear off Umhlanga beach, north of Durban.
Newswatch received several frantic calls from listeners who said a whale had been caught in the nets.
The board's Mike Anderson-Reade says staff alerted them to an 8-metre humpback whale this morning.
"The sharks board has a Whale Release Unit, which went down to the beach. We spent about two hours there and managed to free the animal and it swam away quite happily with no [shark safety] gear on it," he said.
Anderson-Reade says releasing whales caught in nets is a very specialised and dangerous operation.
"We have the right tools for it. We use very long poles with knives that allow us to work and cut the net away from the animal at a fair distance, we still get thumped and bumped around though. We have specialised tools and training so we know what we're doing," he said.
He says the process does take time, but it is important that the whale swims away without any netting on it.
The board's Mike Anderson-Reade says staff alerted them to an 8-metre humpback whale this morning.
"The sharks board has a Whale Release Unit, which went down to the beach. We spent about two hours there and managed to free the animal and it swam away quite happily with no [shark safety] gear on it," he said.
Anderson-Reade says releasing whales caught in nets is a very specialised and dangerous operation.
"We have the right tools for it. We use very long poles with knives that allow us to work and cut the net away from the animal at a fair distance, we still get thumped and bumped around though. We have specialised tools and training so we know what we're doing," he said.
He says the process does take time, but it is important that the whale swims away without any netting on it.
Listen to the full bulletin below: