Fisherman Frees Dolphin Tangled in Rope Off Malta Coast

A fisherman rescued a dolphin tangled in rope off the coast of Ghadira Bay, Malta, on November 8.

Glenn Agius and Alan Deidun were fishing at the time they spotted the distressed animal. Agius, a Maltese fisherman, can be seen in the video cutting ropes to free the animal, as Deidun, a marine biologist and professor at the University of Malta, records the kindly intervention.

“We saved the dolphin from entangled ropes while fishing in Malta,” Agius said. “It was a nice experience because it’s not something you do every day.”

The video shows the animal thrashing as Agius works to cut through the rope around its head. Once the dolphin’s head is freed it can be seen to be visibly calmer. Agius is then able to cut the rest of the rope, freeing the animal, who then swims away.

“For sure if we were not there, it would have ended in a negative way for the dolphin,” he said. Credit: Glenn Agius via Storyful

Video Transcript

- Oh. Oh, good [? boy. ?] Oh. Good. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

- Oh, dude. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

- Stop, stop. Hey. [SMACKS LIPS] [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Whoa. Hey, hey.