Michael Fishbach, co-founder of The Great Whale Conservancy, narrates his team’s encounter with a young humpback whale, which had become completely entangled in a fishing net.
The whale could not move, and was being dragged down by the net fighting for survival. The team fought to cut the whale free, and, sensing a spark of freedom, the young whale started to swim.
“We continued to grab more and more net, haul and cut, haul and cut and after nearly a half hour, the other pectoral fin came mostly free. And when the whale tired, we began cutting the net off the powerful tail-fluke. Finally after about an hour of exhausting work, we decided we had enough net aboard to make the final cut….”
“For the next hour she provided us with the most incredible full-surface display…”