Heroic Rescue Team Works for Four Hours to Free 35-Foot-Long Whale From Illegal Fishing Net (VIDEO)

While sailing along the Gulf of California in Baja California, Mexico, the Sea Shepherd crew spotted the whale trapped in a Totoaba gillnet in the distance. They quickly notified the Mexican Navy and the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection, but knew they had to begin the rescue immediately. After four hours of hard work, the crew eventually freed the 35-foot-long whale from the net! They had to cut the entire thing off of the whale’s head and torso. 

While gillnets were deemed illegal in April 2015 by President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico, fishermen continue to use them. But the nets aren’t the only threats that humpback whales face; they’re threatened by climate change, ocean acidification, ocean noise Pollution, our plastic trash, and vessel strikes.

Sea Shepherd’s work is absolutely incredible and, unfortunately, very necessary. To learn more about what they’re doing to protect the world’s marine life, check out this post.