An adult humpback whale is entangled in ropes at Kingfish Reef in the southern Bay of Islands.
The whale was reported to the Department of Conservation (DoC) Bay of Islands office by a crew member on a commercial tourism vessel at 12 noon on Thursday.
The whale is not able to move freely, but is breathing and it is thought to be in ropes attached to a crayfish pot.
A whale entanglement response team was unable to free the whale after reaching the scene but was able to take photos and collect information.
A call is expected to be made on whether marine conditions will allow the response team to rescue the whale.
If the weather makes it unsafe to proceed on Friday, the weather conditions are due to ease Saturday morning and another plan will be put in place for a response.
A DoC spokesperson said a number of offers of help have been received, however, at this stage DoC has enough resources on the water including a spotter plan and vessels to assist and support the main response team.
Attempts to cut free entangled whales are only carried out when it is safe to do so, DoC said.
For safety, it requires sea conditions not to be too rough and sufficient daylight hours as the procedure can take several hours and it's not safe to disentangle whales in darkness.
DoC is calling on vessels to stay well clear of the area.
Newshub.
