JAMESTOWN, R.I. — A couple from Connecticut who went on a scuba diving trip near Jamestown, Rhode Island, helped to rescue a baby shark that had its head stuck in a work glove on Monday.
Deb and Steve Dauphinais were scuba diving by Jamestown when Deb Dauphinais noticed a baby shark that had its head stuck, according to The Associated Press.
She thought the shark was dead and then saw it move, the AP reported. She had her husband come over to assist her.
The baby shark was 16 inches and was stuck at the bottom of 35 feet of water. Deb Dauphinais, who is a dive instructor, said the shark appeared to be a juvenile Dogfish shark.
Steve Dauphinais tugged on the glove, which eventually led to the shark being freed, the AP reported. The couple was cautious in case the shark snapped at them, but they said they were not afraid of being attacked.
“It kind of looked at both of us, didn’t look at all injured, got its equilibrium back and then swam off back to where it is supposed to be,” Deb Dauphinais told the AP.
“There are countless stories of underwater sea creatures being killed by underwater sea trash,” she said, according to the AP. “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.”
The Marine Mammal Center said that increasing amounts of trash are ending up in the ocean, “creating a threat of entanglement or ingestion for countless marine animals,” CBS News reported. A report from 2020 found that over 1,500 endangered marine animals have ended up stuck in plastic since 2009.
