Rescuers from Sea World have completed a dramatic rescue mission to free a whale calf trapped on the ocean floor.
The eight-metre humpback got caught in a 20mm thick trawler cable last week off the NSW North Coast.
Rescuers spent three days battling 3.5-metre swell and harsh weather to help save the giant mammal, with divers eventually having to jump in the water to get up close to release its tail.
READ MORE: Why closing businesses all day on ANZAC Day is a bad idea
Sea World Foundation’s Head of Marine Sciences, Wayne Phillips, told Today he believed the whale was actually stuck for eight days and the outcome could have been a lot worse if they waited any longer.
“The whale was in significant distress so the team hit the water, went out to inspect the whale and found it was anchored to the seafloor,” he said.
“Traditionally we cut whales out of these situations when they are entangled in nets and ropes, but on this occasion, we found that the whale was stuck on a wire cable and none of our cutting gear could effectively release it.
So the rescue team regrouped and sent divers in who approached the whale from behind and carefully cut the whale free using grinding tools.
READ MORE: Gladiator fans given first look at highly anticipated sequel
Rescuers confirmed the whale still had some of the cabling attached to its tail when it swam off, but hopefully that would come loose on its own.
And with that trawler cabling still there on the ocean floor, Wayne said this type of thing was becoming a real problem for Australian sea life.
“We have about 30 whales each year that travel past our coastline with some sort of commercial fishing gear interaction and we only get to about 10 per cent of those, which is quite sad, really,” he said.
“This is our third whale this season, so it’s becoming quite a problem – the commercial operators need to follow all the rules and regulations and if they do lose some of their gear, they need to report that and do the best they can to get it out of the ocean.”
See footage from the dramatic rescue in the video above