5-Feet Shark Caught In Plastic, Almost Chokes To Death Off Cornwall [Photo]

A shark that was being strangled by a piece of plastic off the coast of Cornwall, England, was rescued by a group of fishing enthusiasts Wednesday.

A group of friends out shark fishing with St Ives Fishing Trips within a few miles of the north coast, near Land's End, England, came upon the distressed shark and hauled it onto the boat in order to free it from the manmade restrains, Cornwall Live reported.

The predator, which was five feet long and weighed 80 pounds, had a piece of plastic strapping caught in its gills. It is believed that the plastic got stuck in the predator's gills at a very early age, causing it to gradually choke as it grew in size over the years.

Seeing an aquatic predator was not an uncommon sight in the 21^st century, Sam Narbett, the owner of St Ives Fishing Trips said. "It is not uncommon to see fish wrapped up in plastic. This had clearly been on the porbeagle for a few years. It had grown through the underbelly,” he added.

"These are very tough fish,” Narbett added. “They are very hardy, but that fish probably would have died because it would have got infected eventually."

Narbett described how the fisherman managed to rescue shark after a considerable amount of struggle.

“We got the shark onto the boat,” he described. “We could see the plastic right around the fish, right under its skin and right around its gills. It was like a box strap - the kind of tough plastic you get wrapped around delivery boxes and pallets. We cut it off straight away and then we realized it was not just around the fish, it was through its skin. We had to pull it through its body and then freed it and released it back into the water and the fish swam off happily.”

The people who helped free the creature later said that the shark would have died if they had not caught it in time and cut the plastic that had started to grow under its skin.

The group’s efforts were praised by the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain. "The increasing amount of plastics and their impact has been championed by many people and organizations over the years…” they wrote.

“Today Sam Narbett caught and released a porbeagle which would have certainly died had he not cut away the plastic banding strip which had tightened around its body,” the post added. "A reminder that we should be supportive of those who campaign for the responsible disposal of plastics. Well done Sam."