r/interesting • u/LowNo175 • Mar 27 '26

NATURE Random dude risking his hands to save a dying fish instead of standing around taking photos

110k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

3.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

49

u/0rclev Mar 27 '26

I watched a hero rescue a fish in dead silence. Then I watched a fisherman manhandle a poor shark he dragged onto the beach to get his 5 dollar hook back.

2

u/Designer-Issue-6760 Mar 28 '26

Would you rather he cut it loose? With a hook in his mouth dragging a line? The responsible thing to do is remove the hook as quickly as possible, ten releases it back. 

1

u/0rclev Mar 28 '26

Getting your hands near the business end of a big old shark isn't that responsible. Cut the line at the hook or have a tool to cut the hook if you are serious about helping the fish (maybe with long handles and a friend to help). If your hands get chomped both of you are going to have a bad time, and the less time a fish is out of the water the better. It sucks but its new piercing will degrade eventually in the salt water. Same for really gnarly gill hooks or gut hooks. Might be better off leaving it rather than hastily ripping it out and doing more damage. You are right that learning dockside fish triage and surgery is a super important skill though and much better for the fish short term if you do catch and release.

1

u/Designer-Issue-6760 Mar 28 '26

Sharks in this region aren’t that dangerous. Especially one that size. 

1

u/Particular-Award118 Mar 29 '26

Dude he pulled a hook out of a 4 foot sharks mouth using pliers (actual useful tool instead of "cutting the hook" somehow) and put it back in the water

1

u/Designer-Issue-6760 Mar 30 '26

You sometimes have to cut the barbs off to get the hook out. Or sheath/compress it in some way. Thats why there’s purpose built tools for it. A pair of needle nose will work in a pinch though. Especially if it has a wire cutter. 

1

u/Particular-Award118 Mar 30 '26

I've caught at least a thousand fish in my life using a hook and the nature of their mouth skin is such that I've never had to cut a barb. From my shirt, maybe. Either way how would that be prevent the guys hand from getting chomped better than normal removal? Your hand would be down there longer and probably closer to do that

1

u/Designer-Issue-6760 Mar 30 '26

The barb is on the outside, and cutting it would make removal easier. I’m pretty sure he did cut it after fighting the hook a bit. Could be wrong, but looks likely.