An entangled humpback whale spotted off Tacking Point on Sunday, June 9 is now believed to be continuing on its journey north.
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The whale was first seen swimming north near Tacking Point Lighthouse on Sunday, June 9.
There were reports that the entangled whale had been seen in a similar location on Monday morning, June 10 but whale spotter Leigh Mansfield said he believes this was a second whale that managed to free itself from the shark detecting buoy at Lighthouse Beach.
Photographer and National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) volunteer Alex McNaught captured video and photos of the entangled whale with his drone on Sunday.
"I went down to get footage at the request of NPWS," he said. "They often ask if I can do that when there are signs of distress or entangled marine life."
Mr McNaught said NPWS were aware the whale was entangled as it made its way up the coast.
"I flew my drone out to where the whale was off Tacking Point and tried to get photos from all angles so NPWS can brief their teams," he said.
"The rope can be hard to see how and where the whale is entangled."
The whale appears to have a rope and three buoys attached to its pectoral fin.
Mr McNaught said he also tracked the whale for a period of time before it got dark so that NPWS can estimate the whale's speed and where it's likely to be seen and when.
"It helps them keep an eye on it as it moves," he said.
Whale spotter with Port Jet Cruise Adventures Leigh Mansfield said the whale was spotted south of the lighthouse about 10am on Monday, June 10.
"It's still hanging around at the moment," he said. "We'll be monitoring it today and will hopefully be able to get a NPWS team out to it.
"The whale watching boat was out there on Sunday and the entangled whale was only a few metres from the boat.
"It's sad that NPWS couldn't get any crews out to it on Sunday to try and remove the rope."
