A humpback whale calf has been rescued on the Sunshine Coast after spending hours trapped in a shark net.

Local wildlife rescuers reported the whale becoming stuck in the net off the bluff at Alexandra Headland at 5.30am on Sunday. 

A contractor from Fisheries Queensland's shark control program freed the whale by 7.30am.

Local photographer Glen Reeves said the sound of a whale crying out could be heard by residents during the night and early this morning.

"First thing in the morning my wife was saying I can hear this big noise," he said.

"You could hear it, it's like a didgeridoo echoing through the whole headland.

"You kind of think, 'Oh crikey.' It's like she is calling for help."

Mr Reeves estimated the whale was entangled a few hundred metres off the coast when the rescuers arrived. 

"He [the rescuer] was just leaning over the boat cutting holes in the nets and probably took 20 minutes," he said. 

"[The whales] swam away into the sunrise."

Drone operator Damian Coulter said it was "pretty wild" to hear a whale crying for help in the early hours of Sunday. 

"I was trying to work out what the hell that noise was going around through Alex so early," he said.