Updated September 26, 2019 13:32:49

A baby humpback whale has been rescued from shark nets off Noosa on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

The whale was caught in nets off the popular tourist spot about 7:00am.

Fisheries Department officers from Noosa and Mooloolaba spent almost three hours trying to cut the whale free.

The whale's mother was close by during the rescue.

Fisheries shark control program manager Michael Mikitis said both remained calm during the ordeal.

"They seem to sort of sense that we were there to help," he said.

"The mother wasn't distressed, [she] was actually laying alongside the juvenile for most of the release."

Guy Ely, a Queensland Boating and Fisheries patrol officer, said the calf swam away strongly once it was released.

"As soon as the net was cut for the whale, it was like, 'we're getting out of here, we're going to keep doing what we do'," he said.

Mr Ely said they did not get into the water for the operation, but used poles with knives on the end to cut away the net.

"And we've got quite advanced cutting techniques that we use," he said.

"The blades, the cutting edge, is on the inside of the blades, so it doesn't damage or injure the whale in any way."

Around 33,000 whales swim along the Queensland coast each year.

Since 2006, 55 whales have been caught in shark nets.

Topics: human-interest, animals, animal-welfare, australia, qld, noosa-heads-4567, noosaville-4566, sunshine-beach-4567, brisbane-4000

First posted September 26, 2019 12:30:09