the humpback is alive, but unable to move. i could see that this whale was horribly, horribly entangled. just like in a straight jacket. 19 years on the water i ve never seen anything like this. you have to make a decision. are you going to try to intervene yourself? physically intervening certainly carries a risk. fishbach and the group can t turn their backs on the animal. they radio the mexican authorities but know it could take hours if not days for someone to arrive, and by then it could be too late. fishbach takes a quick dip in the water to assess the situation under the surface. then he returns to the boat for a knife like this one. he wants to try cutting some of the net free. it s a decision that seems to make his son galen nervous. daddy s going to try to help it, galen. i m scared. it s okay, honey. galen, it s okay.
you ve got to cut everything you can. fishbach and the boat s captain, alberto, haul the excess net aboard, holding tight, and repositioning the boat with a paddle whenever the whale shifts in the water. we were just grabbing and pulling and cutting and in the context of our cutting, things were getting freed and loose. they managed to free one of the whale s pectoral fins, which can be seen momentarily jutting out of the water. no longer completely immobile, but still attached to the net on the boat, the whale begins to swim. we re being taken for a ride by a whale. whenever the whale surfaces, the group continues to cut. by now there s a heap of netting aboard the boat. just make sure none of us get tangled. yeah. let s make sure none of your legs are stuck in there. the greatest risk we faced was being ensnared, as much as a finger or toe, in that net when the whale decides to go down and breathe. watch out, watch out, watch out. hold it.
grab that. grab that tight. grab that tight. the three men remain clear of the net and after about an hour of work, the group has managed to free most of the whale. with the whale becoming more active, it looks like it s time to make the final cut. so close. did you get it? did you get it? see? yeah! yeah! as the whale slowly swims away, it s a moment to celebrate. we saved a humpback whale. fishbach says this wouldn t have been possible if they hadn t intervened when they did. there s no question about the fact this whale would have died. it was so imprisoned in this net, i really don t think it would have lasted another 24 hours. a minute or so after it swims off, the whale breaches and the show doesn t stop there. we saw this incredibly
the camera is rolling as he approaches the 40,000 to 50,000-pound humpback. i got within roughly one foot of the eyeball of this humpback just trying to reassure the whale that i was there to help. very extraordinary to have that moment. fishbach is able to cut some of the net free from the animal s back. how s it working, michael? when he tries to continue cutting along the side of the whale, it becomes clear that s not the right choice. he s freaking out. i got his i got his dorsal fin free, that s it. his pecks and flukes are screwed. it s now safer to work on the net from on board the boat. fishbach hands the knife over to george brazington who continues to cut where he can.
like turning algae into biofuel. .new technology for capturing co2 emissions. .and cars twice as efficient as the average car today. ideas exxonmobil scientists are working on to make energy go further. .no matter how many tries it takes. energy lives here. a man risks his own life when he dives into the water to free a whale trapped in a fishing net. that was an extremely intimidating and potentially dangerous place to be working. conservationist michael fishbach is the codirector of the great whale conservancy.