Connecticut couple rescues baby shark they found stuck in a work glove at the bottom of the ocean
A Connecticut couple’s scuba diving trip on Monday turned into a rescue mission when they spotted a baby shark caught in a work glove at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Deb and Steve Dauphinais, of Glastonbury, Ct., were diving in the sand flats off Jamestown, Rhode Island, when Deb first spotted the 16-inches long creature stuck at the bottom of about 35 inches of water.
At first, Deb – who has been a dive instructor for nearly 30 years – thought she was too late, and the shark was already dead.
But then she saw the shark move slightly, and she motioned for her husband to come swim by her.
“He came over and did his own little double-take,” she told the Associated Press.
She said she and her husband then tugged on the glove – but it seemed to be suctioned onto the shark’s head.
Eventually, though, they were able to set it free.
Deb said neither she nor Steve were afraid of being attacked by what appeared to be a juvenile Dogfish shark, but remained cautious in case it snapped.
“It kind of looked at both of us, didn’t look at all injured, got its equilibrium back and then swam back to where it is supposed to be,” she said.
But it was not the first time Deb was able to save a marine creature.
A few years ago, she said, she freed a black sea bass that was caught on a discarded fishing line.
“There are countless stories of underwater sea creatures being killed by underwater trash,” she said.
“It’s an ongoing issue that’s near and dear to my heart, but these are the only times I’ve been able to save something – at least a shark like that.”
According to the Marine Mammal Center, increased amounts of trash are ending up in the ocean “creating a threat of entanglement or ingestion for countless marine animals.”
Nearly 1,800 endangered marine animals consumed or became entangled in plastic since 2009, according to a 2020 report cited by CBS News.
Even the Great Blue Hole – a giant marine sinkhole in the Caribbean off the coast of Belize that was left mostly unexplored due to a lack of equipment — was recently found to be littered with a two-liter Coke bottle that had made its way 407 feet deep, as well as a lost GoPro camera full of someone’s holiday photos.
With Post wires.
