Australian man fined for rescuing whale from sea nets

Canberra, May 19 (IANS) An Australian man who acted on his own to free a whale caught in sea nets said on Tuesday that he was been fined by authorities for performing the rescue.

The trapped whale was spotted in waters off the Gold Coast on Tuesday, prompting calls to officials, the BBC reported.

However, as hours passed without a response, the man launched his own rescue – driving his boat out, swimming over to the whale and untangling it.

Upon his return to shore, he was fined by officials, theman told Australian media.

It’s unclear what exactly the fine was for, but Queensland state has penalties for tampering with council property, as well as moving too close to whales.

The man said when he saw the whale, “adrenaline just sort of kicked in”.

“Basically I just tried to untangle him,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

He had a knife, but managed to unwrap the whale’s fin from the nets.

The use of shark nets around Australian beaches is controversial due to their impact on other wildlife, reports the BBC.

Last year, there were at least five whales found caught in the state’s nets, prompting calls for other shark deterrents to be used instead.

–IANS

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