Authorities suspend search for entangled humpback whale off Sydney
A juvenile humpback whale found tangled in ropes off the coast of Bondi on Tuesday afternoon could not be found on Wednesday, despite extensive helicopter surveillance as far north as the Central Coast.
Crew members of a Whale Watching Sydney vessel were able to partially free the whale from the fishing gear on Tuesday, after spotting the "exhausted" humpback two nautical miles off the Sydney coast.
Authorities were set to disentangle the whale from remaining ropes on Wednesday, but called off the search for the it by mid-afternoon, after conditions at sea "deteriorated considerably," a spokesman for NSW National Parks said.
"The Bureau of Meteorology has issued gale warnings for Sydney and Hunter waters which makes observations from the air, land and sea virtually impossible because of the white caps," he said.
Conditions are predicted to worsen overnight.
"We have conducted a very extensive search but even though this is a very large animal it is still a little like trying to find a needle in a haystack," the spokesman said.
"There are a lot of whales heading north at the moment. Our crews saw plenty but none that were entangled."
A National Parks and Wildlife vessel was also sent to join the search while staff on the lookout, supported by volunteers from ORRCA, were stationed at a number of headlands along the coast between Sydney and Norah Head.
"We are very grateful for the support we have received so far from all those involved," the spokesman said.
Although disentanglement crews have now been stood down, they are on standby along the coast in case of any sighting of the whale.
"We just don’t know how far it may have gone," the spokesman said.
He wouldn't speculate on the condition of the animal, which had been described as "very exhausted" by crews of a whale watching vessel who managed to cut some of the rope free on Tuesday.
"Obviously the preference is to have that material removed.
"It’s also possible given some of that material was removed yesterday that the remainder may have freed itself," the spokesman said.