A humpback whale has been found dead off the Illawarra coast, entangled in a New South Wales government shark net.

The 8-metre whale was spotted off the shore at Wombarra Beach, next to Coledale Beach, by members of the public about 8:30am on Tuesday.

Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia ( ORRCA), Marine Rescue Port Kembla and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) responded and found the juvenile whale dead in the water with netting wrapped around it.

Coledale is one of five beaches on the Illawarra coast and 51 statewide fitted with a shark net as part of the NSW government's Shark Meshing Bather Protection Program.

ORRCA president Ashley Ryan said the whale was migrating south to Antarctica.

"It's all speculation at this point, but it doe

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