A huge 30-foot sperm whale trapped in a secondary fishing net was successfully released by fishermen in Ormara, Balochistan, in a very amazing rescue operation.
Moazzam Khan, Technical Advisor for WWF Pakistan, clarified that although the net was intended to let dolphins and other marine life pass through, the deep-sea predator became entangled in it.
In response to this unprecedented circumstance, the fishermen acted quickly, severing the net to a 500-metre width in order to free the trapped sperm whale.
This is the first time that a large sperm whale has been ensnared in a fishing net in Pakistan and then successfully released back into the ocean.
The whale apparently spent around fifteen minutes with the fishermen’s boat after it was released. As the greatest marine predators, sperm whales may dive up to 500 metres in search of their food. Sperm whales are one of the four largest whale species found in Pakistan’s coastal regions.
The successful rescue operation demonstrates how local fishermen and conservation organisations work together to protect marine life in the seas around Ormara.
