Great White Shark 'Gasping for Air' in Net Saved by Fishermen

A great white shark that was discovered "gasping for air" in a fishing net has been saved by fishermen.

A video of the rescue—posted to TikTok by Jason Stephens, who goes by the handle x97baby—shows commercial fisherman searching for squid near Santa Cruz Island in southern California.

A seal trapped in their net can be seen leaping from it and swimming away. But shortly after a huge great white shark can be seen floating in it, unable to escape.

The great white can be seen rolling around in the net attempting to escape. But it appears to get more and more tangled with every movement.

The fisherman can be seen moving the net so the shark could find a path to escape—allowing it to eventually swim away.

Great white sharks have to keep moving in order to pass oxygen around their body. This is because they breathe water in through their mouths and exhale it out through their gills.

A TikTok user mentioned this in the comments.

"I think great white sharks have to be moving in order to breathe properly so being trapped in that dude was probably gasping for air," the TikToker user said.

In response, Stephens said: "Yeah he was swimming around In our net. Best way for us to get him out without losing fish or hurting him, I guarantee most boats would kill it sadly!"

Situations like this are not uncommon, John Hourston, founder of British ocean conservation campaign group the Blue Planet Society, told Newsweek. Although the fishermen in this video helped the shark, this does not often happen.

"Unfortunately this is all too common. The fishing industry euphemistically calls this bycatch—an accepted part of commercial fishing," Hourston said. "Millions of sharks and thousands of marine mammals die this way each year, not to mention the turtles and other non-target marine life. The shark that was released and the seal that escaped are the lucky ones."

Every year, an estimated 50 million sharks are killed after being caught as bycatch—animals being accidentally captured in nets. Many animals die as a result of this. Often they can become entangled or injured, which can also cause problems for them even if they escape.

Great white sharks are particularly affected by this. They are often unable to escape nets due to their large size. This is alongside other threats facing the species, such as being haunted for its fins and teeth, or as a trophy.

Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about sharks? Let us know via nature@newsweek.com.