Police Save Seagull Snagged On Fishing Hook At Sea

A hungry seagull trapped after mistaking a barbed fish lure for a real fish, had its life saved by kindhearted Catalan police on sea patrol.

The incident was filmed in Castell-Platja d’Aro on the Costa Brava in the north-western Spanish region of Catalonia, and the footage was shared on Twitter by the Catalan police force Mossos d’Esquadra where it has been viewed 30,000 times.

The seagull appears unable to fly out of the water after being hooked by the fish lure and line and is seen flapping its wings weekly, as the patrol dinghy approaches.

As they draw alongside the bird’s position, a police officer manages to lift it out of the water by its head before carefully removing the hook, while a colleague assists.

The cop then throws the seagull into the air and it flies off into the horizon.

A Mossos d’Esquadra spokeswoman told Newsflash that the bird was snagged by a fishing hook after attempting to eat it on 30th August at around 1.30 pm.

The police accompanied the video with the message: “We patrol the sea to protect the natural environment. We are always concerned about ecology.”

“The Mossos d’Esquadra maritime patrol was carrying out routine checks in the area when they spotted the seagull (in the water).”