The Department of Conservation (DOC) is hoping for better weather conditions tomorrow after high winds today postponed efforts to locate and free a second humpback whale off the Northland coast.
The 12-15-metre whale was spotted yesterday near Moturua Island, off the coast from the historic whaling town of Russell, with rope and a buoy in its mouth.
The same crew that released another humpback whale from netting and ropes yesterday, including Kaikoura's detangling expert Mike Morrissey, was hoping to help again today but 20-knot winds made finding the whale improbable.
There were no sightings of the whale today but commercial operators remained on alert and if DOC received a confirmed sighting and the weather conditions improved, they would launch another rescue operation, spokeswoman Carolyn Smith said.
It was unbelievable for two whales to be tangled in rope in Northland in one week, she said.
Humpback whales were inquisitive by nature and liked to play with crayfish pots which was why they were getting tangled.
"It is a big problem in Eastern Australia and they have a code of practice for crayfishing. I would imagine that we would be monitoring the situation and potentially discussing that," she said.
MetService has forecast winds of at least 20 knots to continue in the Bay of Islands until tomorrow afternoon when winds are expected to ease along with ocean swells.
NZPA