New Zealand whale freed from fishing net in ‘particularly dangerous’ multi-day operation

The nine-metre southern right whale, or tohorā in Māori, is the first of the species to have been recorded entangled in New Zealand waters

A whale that became entangled in a large fishing net and was dragging four buoys and 100 metres of rope behind its tail has been cut free after a complex multi-day rescue operation off the southern coast of New Zealand.

The nine-metre-long southern right whale, or tohorā in Māori, was first spotted by fishers on Saturday morning near the country’s southern island, Rakiura.