A whale shark’s agonising 12-hour ordeal finally came to an end when authorities finally freed it at the Sungai Duyong jetty in Malacca.
According to The Star Online, the shark – weighing more than 1.5 tonnes – became entangled in 55-year-old fisherman Mahat Ibrahim’s net while he was fishing at around 2.30am on Wednesday.
Mahat told the news portal that he and his brother felt something was amiss when their boat struggled to drag in the catch.
Upon inspection, they found that the whale shark — which is actually a protected species under the Fisheries Act 1985 — was trapped in the net.
They reportedly dragged the shark to the jetty and tried to release it once they reached the shore, but they weren’t able to do so due to its tremendous size and weight.
They then decided to call the Fisheries Department for help.
At about 1pm, the State Fisheries Department finally managed to drag the whale shark out into the ocean and release it near Pulau Undan.
During its short stay, the whale shark became sort of like a local celebrity as residents gathered to take pictures with it after news of the giant fish spread on social media:
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