If during the quarantine, nature had gradually reclaimed its space, now that man has returned to the seas, old problems resurface. It was undoubtedly inspiring to see dolphins and blue sharks swimming in the crystal clear waters of the harbors, but now we are back to having to rescue them. Last in chronological order is the story of Spike, a male sperm whale rescued by the Lipari Coast Guard.
The story of Spike sperm whale rescued by the Coast Guard
A crew of four women, biologists from the turtle recovery center on the island of Filicudi, was sailing toward the island of Stromboli when, about six miles northeast of the island of Salina, they spotted on the surface a male sperm whale about ten feet long with its tail fin completely wrapped in a fishing net.
Alerted by the women, the Lipari Coast Guard sent patrol boat CP 322 to the area, which, having verified the cetacean’s critical condition, implemented all useful procedures to secure the mammal. A team of local divers then arrived on the scene aboard a Coast Guard boat, and after an hour of hard work at a depth of about two meters, they managed to totally remove the net from the animal’s tail fin, leaving it free to move.
Once the cetacean’s release operations were over, the sperm whale was monitored by the Coast Guard in order to check for abnormal behavior and left free to rejoin three other specimens that had been waiting for him at a distance all along.
The fishing net recovered aboard the Coast Guard unit was confiscated as illegal fishing gear. Who knows what would have become of Spike without Coast Guard intervention, forced to swim with a hundred pounds of net on his fin.
Not only Spike, the whole environment needs us!
This year, between masks and single-use gloves, there will be plenty to do: Whenever you see a floating piece of trash while boating, or you are at the beach, pick it up, take a photo with the “catch” and send it to the inbox of our Instagram page @barcheamotore or post it on your profile with the hashtag #Medplastic2020, or even on the Facebook group “Medplastic Team,” telling us where you collected the “prey.”
We will repost it on all our channels and sites, and the three best photos of the “hunters” of the summer (July-early October), according to the jury, will be awarded in 2021 with fantastic prizes provided by our friends at Navico (a brand that brings together the B&G, Simrad, Lowrance and C-Map brands and is at the forefront of defending our sea): of vouchers spendable on its entire product range. To upgrade your boat and charting with the latest technology!
