Page 9 - Michael Fishbach News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

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. he travels to mexico sea of cortez for two months every winter to photograph and observe some of the largest animals in the world, blue, fin, and humpback whales. on february 14th, 2011, he's out on the water with his wife heather watrous, 5-year-old son galen, and friends, george and whitney brazington. they're headed for a beach ...

>> it looked to me sort of like part of a tree trunk floating in the desert where there are no large tree trunks ever floating in the water. and as we approached very, very slowly at that point, i could start to see floats on the water that were part of a net. >> the group discovered that tangled in that net is a young humpback whale. >> i was pretty convinced that it was dead because we did not see an ounce of movement. nothing. >> but then a breath. 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 y...

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 over the knife to george who continues to cut where he can. >> 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 wer...

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? >> see? >> 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 ...

50,000-pound humpback. >> i got within roughly one foot of the eyeball of this humpback just trying to reassure 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 dorsal fin free. that's it. his pecks and flokes are screwed. >> it's now safer to work on the net from on board the boat. fishbach hands over the knife to george who continues to c...