Moment police help shark give birth while trapped in illegal fishing net

Watch the moment police officers help a shark give birth while it’s trapped in illegal fishing nets off the coast of Brazil.

The footage, from 22 December 2023, shows officers on the boat holding the trapped shark and gently pressing on her body to help her give birth, while one pup is already born and stranded in the netting.

“When removing the nets from the water, the environmental heroes came across an exciting scene: a pregnant Angelshark specimen trapped in a fishing net,” The Brazilian Maritime Environmental Military Police said in a statement.

Local media reported that officers seized 1,500 metres of illegal nets on the coast of Ubatuba, Sao Paulo, and rescued about 30 trapped fish. Arrests have yet to be made.