There are some people who will go to any lengths to save Earth’s creatures; this amazing video is the perfect example.
Nicholas Taron and Sam Synstelien are commercial eel fishermen. They were just heading back into Morro Bay, California, after a day’s work, when they noticed something disturbing.
A large humpback whale was thrashing around, as it had become entangled in a rope that was tied to a buoy.
After speaking to the U.S. Coast Guard, they took the matter into their own hands.
“The Coast Guard kind of finally said there’s nothing else you can do,” Taron said.
“That one rope was still holding him down to the ocean floor, and the whole time he was swimming in very tight counter-clockwise circles because all that rope was still attached to the bottom of the ocean,” Taron told the Mirror.
The pair decided to communicate with the whale via the loudspeaker, “We were screaming at the whale, you’re either going to help us out and quit swimming away or else, like, good luck.”
Synstelien is convinced the whale got their message, and with words of encouragement from Taron, Synstelien leapt onto the whale’s back. After some tense moments, he was able to cut the rope and free the whale.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Fisheries, the entire episode would have turned out much worse for the entire fishing squad.
The whale appreciated the efforts and bravado of the two fishermen, but not everyone was enthusiastic.
Spokesman Justin Veizbicke said, “We’ve had people die trying to get in the water, and just last year, we lost one of our responders.”
“Although we appreciate and share the concern of the fishermen, we want to discourage this kind of response from the public. Safety of life at sea is our top priority and this incident could have gone in a completely different direction,” reads a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard, reports SFGATE.
“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. In addition, every entangled whale is not necessarily in imminent danger, meaning that there is time to wait for the authorized responders and not requiring these types of emergency actions.
And cutting just the visible lines may not totally free the animal, making it harder for responders to help,” the statement further read.
If you find a whale entangled, please call (877) SOS-WHALE (877–767–9425) or contact the Coast Guard on VHF CH-16.
