The Department of Conservation is asking the public to report any sightings of a whale believed to be entangled off the Otago coast.

DOC received a report on Tuesday afternoon of a southern right whale tangled with a large pink buoy about five nautical miles off Pukekura/Taiaroa Head.

A team of DOC staff and mana whenua carried out a thorough boat search of the area yesterday, but were unable to locate either the whale or the buoy.

DOC Operations Manager Gabe Davies said people along the coast were being asked to keep a lookout.

“The report we had was of a large southern right whale, although we don’t have photos so haven’t been able to confirm this,” Davies said.

“The whale was reported to be entangled with the pink buoy and appeared to be swimming around it with impaired ability to move freely.

“The team did a thorough grid search yesterday but couldn’t locate the whale or the buoy. We don’t know whether the whale has got itself free or remains entangled.”

Davies said southern right whales did not follow the same typical north-to-south migration pattern as humpback whales, making it difficult to predict where the animal may be heading.

“We’re appealing to the public to report any sightings of either the whale or the buoy.

“We need details of location, ideally GPS coordinates, direction headed, time of sighting and photos, if possible.”

DOC and mana whenua had hoped to place a satellite tag on the entangled gear so the whale could be tracked while a disentanglement plan was prepared.

DOC said disentangling marine mammals was highly specialised and dangerous work, and members of the public should never attempt to free or interact with an entangled whale.

Anyone who sees the whale or the pink buoy should call the DOC HOTline on 0800 DOC HOT, or 0800 362 468.