Rescuers fail to find tangled whale

MELBOURNE - Rescue crews searching Victoria's south coast have failed to find a distressed whale, which is likely to die if it remains tangled in a craypot.

The southern Right Whale, a sub-adult about 14 metres long, was first spotted by fishermen near Warrnambool about midday on Friday but attempts to cut it free were unsuccessful.

Rescuers, who left a ten-metre line and large float attached to the anxious animal overnight in a bid to slow it down and cause it to tire, could not find it on Saturday despite sea and aerial searches.

Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) officer Mandy Watson said an aerial search was planned for today, but forecast rough seas could again prevent boat teams freeing the whale.

"If the whale is located and is approachable and calm, the disentanglement procedure will be attempted again with the line and buoy as the starting point," she said.

Ms Watson said teams in Tasmania and South Australia were also on alert for the animal, which could be following its migratory route or hugging the coast to seek shelter in protected bays.

She said the whale would most likely die if it remained tangled.

But authorities hope the craypot will break up and fall away, releasing tension in the ropes binding the whale.

"USA experience has shown that leaving buoys attached can create drag, which may help release the original entanglement," Ms Watson said.

"A specifically designed biodegradable link has been built into the ten-metre line holding the buoy, which will eventually break, causing the buoy to fall away."

The whale has two loops of rope around its left tail fluke, one rope around its right tail fluke and more than six wraps of rope around its actual tail.

Southern right whales visit the Victorian coast from May to October each year as they migrate from the deep Southern Ocean, where they feed, to the warmer waters of southern Australia, where they mate and calve, according to information from the department.

They are predominantly dark brown to black in colour, grow up to 18 metres long and may live up to 60 years.

DSE would like anyone who spots the whale or the buoy, described as teardrop shaped, orange, one metre in diameter with a black ring on top and the number two on each side, to call 136 186.

- AAP