BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Fishermen, beachgoers and environmentalists successfully freed a young whale shark who got entangled in a fishing net Friday morning in San Juan, La Union.
Upon seeing the whale shark in their net at around 9 a.m., fishermen tried to free the creature immediately, according to ocean conservationist Carlos Tamayo, chief of the sea turtle conservation group CURMA.
But the fishermen failed and brought the whale shark on the shore. With the help of beachgoers, they succeeded freeing the endangered specie, Tamayo said.
Quick response teams from the municipal environment office, policemen and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources also came to assist and supervise.
“Eventually [the whale shark] got to swim back into its ocean, its home,” Tamayo added.