The Sea World Foundation rescued a female grey nurse shark that had a large fishing trace protruding from her mouth. This is the third grey nurse shark the organization has rescued in six weeks.
SOUTH WEST ROCKS, Australia – Specialists with the Sea World Foundation rescued a grey nurse shark off the coast of South West Rocks in New South Wales, Australia earlier this week.
The mature female shark had a large trace line attached to a fishing hook protruding from her mouth when the rescue team found her.
“It was really, really challenging this case,” said Dr. Claire Madden, The Sea World Foundation Head Veterinarian. “I was dealing against not just a monofilament fishing line. This fishhook was well and truly within the stomach of this shark.”
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Working with the South Rock Dive Center and Marine Rescue NWS, the Sea World Foundation dive and veterinary teams were able to spring into action to save the injured shark.
According to a press release, a set of divers worked in challenging conditions, including limited visibility and strong currents, to capture the shark and to bring her to the surface.
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Once the shark was brought to the side of the boat, the veterinary team began to remove the hook. One team member reached into the female shark’s mouth to remove the trace.
A team with the Sea World Foundation rescued a grey nurse shark off the coast of South West Rocks in New South Wales, Australia.
(Sea World Foundation / FOX Weather)
“Due to the type of entanglement, we used a large PVC pipe to avoid the shark’s teeth and follow the trace down to the stomach, and with specialized equipment dislodged the hook to successfully remove all of the equipment,” said Dr. Madden in the press release.
Shortly after the successful procedure, the shark was returned to the ocean.
“If we’d not done this rescue today…this shark would have been in great grief,” Dr. Madden said.
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A team with the Sea World Foundation rescued a grey nurse shark off the coast of South West Rocks in New South Wales, Australia.
(FOX Weather)
This is the third grey nurse shark that the Sea World Foundation has rescued in the last six weeks.
Grey nurse sharks are listed as critically endangered on the international Union for Conservation for Natures Red List.