It began as a typical day fishing near the Manasquan Inlet, but soon a New Jersey angler noticed something unusual.

Sal Gatto told JSHN.com that as he was searching for bass, he spotted a 40-foot humpback whale that had become tangled in a fishing net. He and his companions contacted the Coast Guard as they attempted to free the whale by cutting through the net, finally freeing the large mammal as the crew arrived.

A video taken by Gatto shows the freed whale taking a deep breath before swimming away. Another video, shared on the JSHN Facebook page, show's Gatto's boat with the whale just beneath it.

Whale sightings near the Jersey Shore are not completely unusual. In November, humpback whales were spotted near the coast, with at least one spotted in the Raritan Bay.

 

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

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