Shark rescued after biting on giant fishing hook

An endangered shark was saved from a slow and painful death by a rescue team after getting a giant fishing hook stuck in its throat. Scuba divers spotted the distressed female grey nurse shark swimming near Julian Rocks in the Cape Byron Marine Park, off the far north coast of New South Wales, in Australia, and took underwater photos of the animal.

After reporting the sighting to the authorities, a team of experts from nearby theme park Sea World, the NSW Fisheries Department and the Marine Parks Authority went out to help the three-metre shark.

The team located the shark in about 15 metres of water, with eight other grey nurse sharks, and marine scientists coaxed it into a see-through tube before carefully removing the embedded gaff.

Sea World director of marine sciences Trevor Long led the expedition in the theme park's rescue boat.

"We had an ambitious thought that we could find the shark and catch it and we were prepared to stay as long as it took," he said.

"However, we were extremely fortunate to find it on the first dive. The rescue team were able to rope noose the injured shark and tire her out, allowing them to place her in a specially designed Perspex tube."

The shark was lifted from the water and placed in a 4,000 litre tank using a crane, with the rescue team then turning the shark on her back, placing her in a dormant state.

"When the shark was in a relaxed state, we inserted a large PVC pipe into her mouth and conducted a delicate procedure to remove the gaff hook, which was lodged in her oesophagus" said Mr Long.