Man fined for rescuing whale from sea nets in Australia

Australian authorities fined a man for rescuing a whale caught in the sea net. 

The trapped whale was spotted in waters off the Gold Coast on Tuesday, prompting calls to officials.

However, the officials did not turn up for hours, prompting the man to launch himself on the rescue mission. 

The man, driving his boat out, swimming over to the whale and untangling the whale. Upon his return to shore, he was fined by officials, he told Australian media.

It's unclear what exactly the fine was for, but Queensland state has penalties for tampering with council property, as well as moving too close to whales, according to BBC.

The man, who only wanted to be known as 'Django', said when he saw the whale, "adrenaline just sort of kicked in".

"Basically I just tried to untangle him," he told the ABC. He had a knife but managed to unwrap the whale's fin from the nets.

The use of shark nets around Australian beaches is controversial due to their impact on other wildlife.