Divers from the Italian coast guard worked throughout Sunday to free a sperm whale caught in fishing nets.
The whale became entangled in nets in the waters surrounding the Aeolian Islands archipelago. Sailors saw the whale struggling on Saturday and contacted the coast guard.
The video shared on the official Coast Guard Twitter shows the efforts organized by divers and biologists to free the whale by cutting the lines with knives. The operation to release the sperm whale was complicated due to “its state of agitation,” which prevented divers from continuously working on the lines, the coast guard said Sunday.
In this image taken from a video of the Italian coast guard, a whale caught in a fishing net in the waters near the Aeolian islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Divers from the Italian coast guard were working on Sunday to release a sperm whale entangled in a fishing net near a small Mediterranean island. In a video of the coast guard, a diver can be seen cutting part of the net in the waters surrounding the archipelago of the Aeolian Islands. The operation to free the sperm whale was made particularly difficult “due to its state of agitation” that does not allow continued intervention near the creature, the coast guard said in a statement.
(Italian Coast Guard via AP)
Just three weeks ago, the coast guard released another sperm whale that was entangled in fishing nets in the same area.
The coast guard said the fishing lines were illegal, claiming to have seized 100 km (about 62 miles) of illegal fishing nets in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea so far this year.
In this image taken from a video of the Italian coast guard, a whale caught in a fishing net in the waters near the Aeolian islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Divers from the Italian coast guard were working on Sunday to release a sperm whale entangled in a fishing net near a small Mediterranean island. In a video of the coast guard, a diver can be seen cutting part of the net in the waters surrounding the archipelago of the Aeolian Islands. The operation to free the sperm whale was made particularly difficult “due to its state of agitation” that does not allow continued intervention near the creature, the coast guard said in a statement.
The coast guard said it has stepped up its efforts this year to combat illegal fishing, but some critics wish to see a similar effort to help the various migrant ships that may be stranded in the seas.
Swarm of flying ants appeared in UK weather like rain clouds
“We praise you for fighting illegal fishing in your seas and invite you to use the same standards in defense of human life as you defend the right of whales to survive,” said a tweet from Mediterranea Saving Humans USA in response to the news about sperm. whale rescue
On July 13, the crew of the Moonbird reconnaissance plane identified and photographed a small boat with about 60 passengers on board in the central Mediterranean, The Guardian reported. The boat appeared to be adrift with its engine dead.
After notifying authorities in Italy and Malta, Moonbird saw again and witnessed an Italian coast guard patrol boat that apparently ignored the migrant ship.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Italian authorities released a statement saying they had received confirmation from another ship that it would carry out rescue operations and decided not to intervene.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
