A humpback whale has been seen thrashing off the coast of Newcastle after it became entangled on Thursday afternoon.
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But windy weather conditions mean any attempt to rescue the creature will have to wait until Friday.
Marine rescue organisation Orrca confirmed the whale entered Newcastle Harbour at about 2pm, tangled in a line and dragging an orange buoy.
The whale then left the harbour and headed south east, straight into the wind.
It then turned and began to travel north towards Stockton before onlookers lost sight of it just before 5pm.
Orrca vice president Shona Lorigan said the weather conditions made it too dangerous for crews to travel out to try and disentangle the whale.
“Disentanglement is dangerous at the best of times,” she said.
“Safety of our disentanglement teams is paramount.”
Ms Lorigan said the whale had been seen “thrashing” off the coast.
She said Orrca had members on Nobbys and Stockton breakwalls, monitoring the whale.
But it was unclear whether the creature would end up travelling north or south.
If weather conditions ease on Friday, crews will attempt to disentangle the humpback.
“We need people to keep an eye out,” Ms Lorigan said.
“If you see the whale [on Friday] call Orrca.”
Orrca’s hotline is 9415 3333.