Florida scuba diver rescues hooked shark entangled on reef

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A Florida scuba diver came to the rescue of a shark found tethered to an artificial reef via a hook caught in its mouth.

Tazz Felde, an instructor with Under Pressure Divers, said his wife, who works at Destin Snorkel Scuba, was told there was a nurse shark hooked to a reef near Destin.

Felde and a fellow diver named Dan set out from John Beasley Park on Okaloosa Island to the area where the shark was sighted and discovered the 6-to-7-foot nurse shark had a big hook in its mouth attached to a steel leader and a 120-pound test line tethered to the reef.

Dan filmed video while Felde cut through the steel leader, freeing the shark.

Felde said the shark swam off before he could remove the hook -- and took his pliers with it. He said the hook will hopefully rust out and come free on its own.

The divers ended up clearing more than a hundred feet of tangled fishing line from the area to protect other sea creatures from getting entangled.