This weekend on Snapper Ledge, CudaChaser and Bill51 rescued a nurse shark from a lobster trap.
Way to go guys!!!
Way to go guys!!!
The Shark Whisperers!
- Thread starter MsParamedic
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deeper thoughts
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Great and a Thank You from all
Holy Narcosis... any video?? Kudos!
Bill did all the work...I was under the boat taking pics of other things. We are changing his screen name to "Shark Wisperer"
Thanks, but I just wish he hadn’t been such an ungrateful little guy the way he kept trying to nip my fingers. Maybe I wasn’t whispering the right things to him.
I’ve also got to thank my navigation students for a great search and actually having a real “save” on their first open water search. We heard that this guy was spotted a couple days ago in the trap, but the divers that found him couldn’t get him out and then they promptly lost the exact location but it was out in the sand south of the reef where no one usually dives – and it was a great place to force students to use headings without any real landmarks.
He was about 6” longer than the trap so he couldn’t fully stretch out in it and the trap was along a small rock ledge just out of the current so he was looking pretty lethargic when we found him. It was an old trap with a broken buoy line and wedged door that wouldn’t open so I tried to just rip the slats out – but he kept trying to bite my fingers when I’d reach in to grab the boards, so I had to pry it apart with a flat stone (of all the dives to only carry my sheers and no knife). He kind of freaked out and started thrashing against the other side at the snapping sound of the wood when I broke out some slats and wouldn’t come out and looked like he might hurt himself so I grabbed his tail and drug him out upside down. Once I got him out and turned over he just kind of hung there for about 10 seconds before he realized he was free and took off. Pretty fun and exciting dive – but pretty tiring too.
Even better for the day was getting to meet MsParamedic for lunch.
I’ve also got to thank my navigation students for a great search and actually having a real “save” on their first open water search. We heard that this guy was spotted a couple days ago in the trap, but the divers that found him couldn’t get him out and then they promptly lost the exact location but it was out in the sand south of the reef where no one usually dives – and it was a great place to force students to use headings without any real landmarks.
He was about 6” longer than the trap so he couldn’t fully stretch out in it and the trap was along a small rock ledge just out of the current so he was looking pretty lethargic when we found him. It was an old trap with a broken buoy line and wedged door that wouldn’t open so I tried to just rip the slats out – but he kept trying to bite my fingers when I’d reach in to grab the boards, so I had to pry it apart with a flat stone (of all the dives to only carry my sheers and no knife). He kind of freaked out and started thrashing against the other side at the snapping sound of the wood when I broke out some slats and wouldn’t come out and looked like he might hurt himself so I grabbed his tail and drug him out upside down. Once I got him out and turned over he just kind of hung there for about 10 seconds before he realized he was free and took off. Pretty fun and exciting dive – but pretty tiring too.
Even better for the day was getting to meet MsParamedic for lunch.
deeper thoughts
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wow!!!!!!!
Great job Bill51. Those old traps create a hazard to the marine life and the reef itself. They really need to be cleaned up, but that will never happen. Between that the the amount of fishing line on the reef I'm sure the damage to aquatic life is fairly high.
Last year in the same area we found a turtle who had one of his front flippers severed by fishing line. We were able to get the line off him and he swam away. Before that we found a turtle with a fishing hook in his right hine flipper on the Duane. I guess he'd ripped the hook out if we hadn't of cut the line.
Anyway good story with a good ending. All who depend on the reef for our livelyhood appreciate your efforts.
Good Diving,
Last year in the same area we found a turtle who had one of his front flippers severed by fishing line. We were able to get the line off him and he swam away. Before that we found a turtle with a fishing hook in his right hine flipper on the Duane. I guess he'd ripped the hook out if we hadn't of cut the line.
Anyway good story with a good ending. All who depend on the reef for our livelyhood appreciate your efforts.
Good Diving,
tech108diver
Contributor
Nice man!! you said Cuda was taking pics? did he take any shots of you freeing the poor fish?
Very very cool. Also a great first experience for your students.
Very very cool. Also a great first experience for your students.
erparamedic
Vampire Girl......er Dork
Just curious, (cause I'm not familiar with lobster traps) how big was the trap... and how big was the shark?
The traps vary from 30-39 long and I guessed this one at about 32 with the shark being in the range of 36-38 long and about 8 wide across the head. This trap was about 18x12 wide and tall.erparamedic:
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