One of the most advertised aspects of a seafood restaurant is the freshness of its dishes. Most, if not all, seafood restaurants have aquarium rights in front of their establishment.
Within these water-filled glass tubs, we can see an assortment of sea creatures from different kinds of fish, crustaceans, shellfish, and mollusks. In one particular encounter, however, a free-diving instructor was moved by the sight of one of these creatures. What he did next was totally unexpected.
Roei was eating in a seafood restaurant one night and saw a couple of baby sharks inside the tub.
At first, he tried his best to focus on his meal and interacting with his friends. But all the while, there was a nagging feeling inside of him.
As moments passed, he still can’t get his mind off what he saw. Eventually, he approached one of the staff members of the restaurant and asked about the baby sharks.
The sharks were so young.
They might be around 2 to 3 feet long and were pitifully swimming around in circles within the small tub. And in this confusing discomfort, the next thing the sharks will experience is the end of their lives.
Roei can’t let that sit. He asked the staff how much the sharks were. Surprisingly, the restaurant only sells them for a measly $20.
Roei bought one of the sharks to release it.
He asked the staff for a strainer so he can scoop the shark out of the container. According to him, sharks can only tolerate being out of the water for a couple of minutes.
The beachhead was around 3 to 5 minutes away from the restaurant so Roei had to act fast – maybe even faster than the quickest he acted in his life.
He rushed to the beach albeit carefully.
The shark was flailing violently at first but as seconds passed, the shark’s movements were becoming lesser and lesser. It worried all of them.
When they reached shore, there was only a little bit of movement from the shark. They were still optimistic however and carefully placed it back into the water where it belongs.
The shark took a minute to adjust.
Then, after it realized that it was free, it swam about for a few moments before disappearing into the night waters.
Unfortunately, when Roei went back to the restaurant. It was already too late for the other baby shark.
The whole experience left a profound mark on Roei.
He emphasized the ecological value of sharks and why we should protect them. He said that at the top of the oceanic food chain, it is the sharks’ responsibility to keep fish populations in check and to prevent one species from monopolizing the resources of the ocean.
By protecting sharks, we are also protecting every other species that rely on this population control. He also shared with The Dodo that the free-diving area where he teaches has a lesser amount of sharks compared to before.
To help with the conservation efforts, Roei began selling dolphin tail-shaped where all proceeds will go to environmental funds.
Watch how this man saved a baby shark from a seafood restaurant.
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