Ocean Sentry
(From news.com.au)- The rescue of a whale trapped in shark nets off the Gold Coast yesterday is set to reignite the environmental debate over the use of the nets. Rescuers spent several hours untangling up to 180m of shark net from around the whale before, near exhaustion, it was able to swim to safety as sunset approached.
The Queensland Government has long been opposed to the idea of removing shark nets but comes under increasing pressure during the winter months, when whales make their annual migration from the Antarctic up to the tropical waters of north Queensland.
Many of the whales making the return journey south do so with newborn calves, who are often confused by the shark nets.
(By Jeremy Pierce)
