Paddleboarders face $30,000 fine for freeing humpback whale caught in net

A group of paddle boarders face heavy fines after taking matters into their own hands to help free a humpback whale caught in a shark net.

Will Wensley and Brenton Owens had originally planned to go for a sunrise swim and do a yoga session before springing into action after spotting the distressed animal early on July 1 at Marcoola Beach.

Owens said they reported their sighting to authorities, but after almost an hour no one arrived, they took action, fearing the whale was “drown.”

Despite their good intentions, maritime authorities said their actions were against the law and risked injury from a distressed and unpredictable whale.

Wensley and Owens, along with friends Luke Bird and Jaz Sol, paddleboarded and cut the net with a knife.

The group faces fines of more than $30,000 after a successful rescue attempt to save a whale that appeared to be in distress off the Sunshine Coast in southern Queensland, Australia.

Owens said the whale was “completely wrapped in two layers of netting.”

“He was on the surface, but he wasn’t moving. Shortly after we came out, he took a deep breath and released a lot of air.

“And then slowly he sank under the water and (bubbles appeared), and we all turned to each other and said, ‘Oh my God… is this his last breath?'”

Owens went on to explain that he wanted to at least cut the netting that was rubbing against the whales’ eyes, if nothing else.

After their intervention, the whale swam away.

A marine animal release team was on their way to free the whale when they were informed that members of the public had already done so.

Naomi Gardiner, a lecturer in marine biology and aquaculture at James Cook University, explained the dangers of intervention.

“Humpback whales are huge, exceptionally heavy animals, and when in distress they act quite erratically,” she said.

“In this kind of entanglement situation, they could easily, with a simple movement of their body, knock a person unconscious, causing death or serious injury to the well-meaning rescuer.”

In terms of fines and penalties, Queensland legislation provides that a person can be fined $19,356 for entering waters within 100m of a whale. However, this fine may not apply if the person has a “reasonable excuse”.

It is also illegal to come within 20 metres of shark nets used as part of the state government’s shark control programme.

The maximum penalty is a fine of $32,260 and there is no exemption for “reasonable excuse.”

A Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) spokesman said the department would “consider whether an investigation was required into possible breaches of the Fisheries Act 1994, namely the 20-metre exclusion zone that applies to shark control equipment”.

They also warned the public against approaching whales or attempting to free them trapped in nets, for their own safety.