Watch: Moment rare southern right whale is freed from fishing gear
Thursday, 4 June 2026
A nine-metre southern right whale became entangled in a blue cod pot line off Rakiura/Stewart Island.
Local fishers first reported the entanglement on Saturday morning.
The whale dragged four buoys and about 100 metres of rope after breaking free from the pot.
DOC says it is the first recorded disentanglement of a southern right whale in New Zealand waters.
A race to save a rare whale unfolded in southern waters this week after the giant mammal became tangled in fishing gear and began dragging four buoys and 100 metres of rope towards Bluff, prompting a major Department of Conservation rescue operation.
The nine-metre southern right whale/tohorā was entangled in a blue cod pot line off Rakiura/Stewart Island before being freed by the DOC workers.
The entanglement was first reported by local fishermen on Saturday morning, with DOC able to attach a satellite tracking buoy to keep track of its location.
On Tuesday, DOC launched a rescue mission to free the whale, which included its specialist large whale disentanglement team based in Kaikōura, and others trained responders from across the country.
DOC Rakiura operations manager Jennifer Ross said it was a complex and technical operation - the first time this species has been disentangled in New Zealand waters.
“Tohorā are among the most difficult whale species to disentangle. They are large, extremely strong and incredibly mobile – this makes any attempt to free them particularly dangerous.”
A southern right whale disentanglement has never been recorded in New Zealand before and requires an advanced level of expertise, she said.
“Tohorā can change direction quickly, roll 180 degrees, and swim backwards.
“They’re more unpredictable than other whale species.
“A whale disentanglement is never straightforward, but this one was particularly complex.”
On Monday, about 11pm the satellite tracker showed the whale was on the move, heading north towards Bluff.
While had broken free of the pot, it still had four buoys and around 100m of rope coiled and draped from its tail.
“We had the data showing the tracker was on the move, but what we really needed was visual confirmation – there was a chance that the tracker itself had fallen off and was moving with the tides,” Ross said.
“Time was crucial – we needed to confirm the whale’s location to take advantage of an open weather window.”
DOC’s whale disentanglement team arrived at the Bluff ferry terminal on Tuesday morning, ready to cross Foveaux Strait to Rakiura.
But due to the whale’s change of tack, they asked the crew on the RealNZ ferry if they could make a short detour to the tracker’s last known location.
“The crew agreed, and because of that detour we were able to get eyes on the whale, and save crucial hours in the day.”
The whale was successfully freed off the coast of Bluff just after 4pm on Tuesday, following a multi-day ordeal, and was last seen swimming normally into the sunset.
Ross said it was a timely reminder to fishers to only set as much line as they need for depth.
The longer the lines, the more chance of entanglement.
“At this time of year, many whale species are migrating, which increases the risk.”
Southern right whales, because they don't have a dorsal fin and were harder to spot in the water, were in danger of vessel strike.
Anyone on the water is reminded to keep their distance to all marine mammals and report sightings to 0800 DOC HOT or the SeaSpotter app.