Colleague Dr Ingrid Visser recently confirmed that an orca in New Zealand waters which had been the subject of a rescue effort last month still has crayfish line wrapped around both pectoral fins.
The adult male orca first became entangled in a crayfish pot line, near Tutukaka Harbour in December last year. Despite tremendous efforts made by rescuers who thought they had finally cut free the line five days after the whale was spotted, underwater video footage has now revealed the extent to which the whale was actually entangled.
Desperate measures are now being taken to locate the orca and the Department of Conservation disentanglement team has once again been placed on standby to respond should the animal be spotted. We will update when we receive further information.
