This is the dramatic moment a whale shark trapped in a fishing net was freed and swam back into the ocean.<br /><br />The endangered creature washed ashore while flailing in the ropes in Aceh Province, Indonesia on Sunday July 26.<br /><br />Footage shows how the whale shark was being battered by the choppy seas as waves repeatedly crashed against its body.<br /><br />Residents rushed into the water tried to untangle the netting. However, the conditions were too difficult so they later attached the next to a boat and dragged the creature into the water where the net was cut.<br /><br />"Thank God, the whale shark was been released back to the sea," said Akmaluddin, Head of Blangpadang Village.<br /><br />"In the waters around here it is shrimp season. For the past few days, whale sharks are often seen in the waters.''<br /><br />Whale sharks, which have a length of approximately three meters, become tangled in fishing nets that are used to catch shrimp.<br /><br />Meanwhile, news of rescuing the whale shark by the people in Aceh received appreciation from officials from the marine and fisheries ministry.<br /><br />It is hoped that the awareness of the fishermen in West Aceh towards the preservation of whale sharks can be an example for fishermen in other regions of Indonesia.<br /><br />Some fishing trawlers that accidentally snare whale sharks drag them ashore and sell them. <br /><br />The animals are classed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
