No buoy else would’ve attempted this!
A commercial fisherman risked his life to save an entangled humpback whale in the water off the California coast — and it was captured on video.
Sam Synstelien jumped into the water and quickly removed a rope that was wrapped around the whale’s back and tail, NBC Bay Area reported.
“(The whale) was just swimming in counter-clockwise circles,” said Nicholas Taron, who shot the footage of the rescue. “You could tell he was stressed and being held to the bottom.”
The whale, spotted off Morro Bay in September, seemed to be attempting to free itself from something — a rope with a buoy attached to it.
After the Coast Guard was contacted and couldn’t respond for hours, Synstelien and Taron, both commercial eel fishermen, decided to take control of the situation and free the upset marine animal.
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“You’re either going to help us out and quit swimming away or else, like, good luck,” said Taron, who explained they used the boat’s radio to speak to the whale.
Once the rope was cut and detached from the buoy, the whale was freed and the two fisherman celebrated.
The rescue received praise from social media users — but their actions didn’t impress everyone.
“While we are relieved the fishermen were not harmed and the whale may have been freed, we fear this video is a very dangerous example, and may encourage others to attempt such a response in the future,” the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Even authorized, trained responders have been killed while attempting to disentangle whales using the best techniques and specialized equipment.”
Entangled whales are “not necessarily in imminent danger” and emergency actions don’t need to be taken.
“Best practice for dealing with an entangled whale is to never get into the water with it, as these animals are very powerful and dangerous in close proximity.”
