image via – youtube.com
There is a zero tolerance standard for fishing in the waters, that the group of divers captured in the video below are exploring. This magnificent footage, produced by the Smithsonian, caught a fateful meeting between the divers and a “whale shark”.
The largest species of fish in existence, the whale shark isn’t actually a whale at all, according to the “Nature Conservancy”. It is classified as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN Red List. While it is technically a shark, this “gentle giant” moves slowly and is of no danger to humans unless attacked in a specific way.
It actually makes a great companion for divers as you will see in the video. When the divers came upon this whale shark, they immediately saw that an extremely large fishing rope was wrapped around the animal, cutting into it’s fins.
Using a cutting tool they instantly released the rope from the encumbered animal; judging by the condition of the skin underneath the rope and the rope itself, the divers believed that the poor whale shark had been tied up for a lengthy time, as you will hear in the video.
This Vulnerable species is of great value to Taiwanese and Filipino fisherman, who attempt to capture it, despite the prohibition on fishing in these waters. Their attempt to capture clearly failed, but damaged this beautiful creature for some time.
Have you ever seen anything like this?
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