Divers pull hook from mouth of young shark
Divers who were exploring a shipwreck off Abu Dhabi have rescued a shark that was struggling for its life.
The group of eight were diving near Lion City and on their way to the wreck of a tanker about 35 nautical miles off the coast when they saw the fish.
It was snagged on a foam block by a hook caught in its mouth.
They said that at first they thought the creature was a turtle, but when they moved closer they could see it was a shark.
The fish, a blacktip reef shark, which they guessed was about a year old, appeared to be running out of energy from fighting.
“That’s an old traditional way of fishing, because the hook was right on the block,” said Kathleen Russell, a member of the diving group that had been on its way to the MV Ludwig, a ship that was used as a target by the Armed Forces about 20 years ago, when they encountered the shark.
“We were in deep water, about 29 or 30 metres, and you normally don’t see a shark on the surface from the middle of the water,” said Ms Russell, who owns Al Mahara Dive Centre in Abu Dhabi.
“It wasn’t able to dive down, and when it did go down a bit, it came back up again. It was dragging the block the whole time.”
She turned the shark over to induce tonic immobility, a hypnosis-like state, before another diver with gloves removed the hook.
“We wanted to at least cut the foam. But we were able to completely take the hook out, which was great. We were very lucky,” Ms Russell said.
“We didn’t see any blood or anything.”
They then turned the shark over and it swam away.
“It was quite special for us as divers in the community,” Ms Russell said.
“In all the years I have done this, I have never jumped in and taken a hook off a shark.
“It would have died if we hadn’t. And I hope it will survive now. It did swim away properly and cautiously. But I think it was probably really exhausted.”
Blacktip reef sharks are among the most common kind inhabiting the tropical coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Timid and skittish, blacktips do not pose a danger to people, but have been known to mistakenly bite.
They are classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.