The other day, a team of volunteers with the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA) was combing the shores of Wellfleet Harbor in Massachusetts, searching for stranded ocean sunfish, when they suddenly came upon an upside-down shark. It was an unusual sight, and one volunteer, Catherine, was instantly concerned.
“Catherine has done some work with sharks and realized that this blue shark was in trouble,” a NECWA representative told The Dodo.
New England Wildlife Alliance
The shark lay stunned in the shallow water while the NECWA volunteers figured out a plan to help him. They quickly contacted the state’s shark scientist, John Chisholm, and described the shark’s desperate situation. The shark was uninjured, but the team worried for him as the tide continued to recede.
“[T]he tide was going out, which would have resulted in this beautiful animal stranding out of the water on the beach at Indian Neck, Wellfleet,” the NECWA representative said.
You can see footage from that moment here:
Chisholm confirmed that the shark looked overall healthy but was simply having trouble flipping over or turning around in the shallow water. The poor shark was helpless, with the team of volunteers who’d discovered him being his only hope of survival.
“[Chisholm] suggested that the team drag the fish out to deeper water but warned folks to stay away ‘from the business end’ of the fish, aka the mouth,” the NECWA representative said.
It was a risky task, but the volunteer team refused to give up on him. Catherine and her colleagues, Lars and Keegan, quickly jumped into action.
“As Catherine put a rope on the tail to drag the fish out into deeper water, Lars, one of our other volunteers, kept a pole next to the animal’s head in case the shark turned quickly to bite at Catherine,” the NECWA representative said.
New England Wildlife Alliance
Within minutes, the team pulled the shark into deeper water and breathed a sigh of relief when he finally flipped right side up.
“They were able to quickly move the fish out into deeper water, release the strap on the tail and allow the fish to swim away,” the NECWA representative said.
You can watch his release here:
Catherine and her fellow volunteers were nearly breathless as they watched the shark swim back into the ocean. Saving sharks wasn’t on their agenda that day, but the team was overjoyed to have found this little guy just in time to help.
“Our motto is ‘Every Animal Counts,’ and even though we were not looking to rescue a shark that morning, we were in the right place at the right time,” the NECWA representative said.
To help marine wildlife in New England get the care they need, you can donate to New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance here.
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