A fun fact about me is that I love watching deep-sea fishing videos. Have I ever been deep-sea fishing? No. Do I have the desire to go hook some monsters? No. But for some reason, I love watching fishermen reel in beasts from the deep sea, and the excitement that they have for catching these magnificent creatures leaves you in awe.
Because of this, my algorithm often shows me videos like this, and recently, some offshore rig fishing has been included in that mix. Naturally, men who live on offshore oil rigs see quite a bit of deep-sea monsters while they are working. Whether they witness feeding frenzies, large sharks stalking their prey, or whales migrating from one place to another, these rig workers have a front row seat to the beauty and mysteries that happen deep in the ocean.
And these offshore rig workers often see wildlife caught in their lines as they work. I’ve seen plenty of videos of fish, unfortunately, getting tangled up in lines they shouldn’t be, but I have never seen anything like the recent viral TikTok video from @bluecollaathlete.
According to their Instagram page, they highlight offshore workers in Louisiana, and their content ranges from the fish they catch off the rig to their welding work.
Their latest TikTok video is gaining some traction as a great white shark got caught up in their line and was brought up from the ocean. While most people (including myself) would not know what to do in this situation, given that a shark was not the intended catch, the men chose to release it back into the water. The only issue… That’s a long way down to the water from the rig.
In the video, you see the shark caught in a rope, and a man slides his knife into it to cut the shark free. The shark begins to free-fall toward the ocean before hitting the water hard. But according to the video’s caption, the shark swam away and was not harmed by the fall.
“Not everything we catch is meant to keep. Swam off strong. Respect the ocean!”
This situation is hard because while it was not guaranteed that the shark would be okay on its fall back into the water, there is also no reason to take the shark’s life if it would not be harvested for food.
Check it out:
@bluecollaathlete Not everything we catch is meant to keep. Swam off strong. Respect the ocean! #BlueCollaAthlete #OffshoreLife #CatchAndRelease #Viral ♬ original sound – bluecollaathlete
After learning that the shark was okay, the floodgates opened for some great comedic comments. The comments section quickly filled up with hilarious remarks about this shark’s skydiving experience. Read a few of my favorites while you’re here:
“‘And then the aliens dropped me from the sky’ – none of his homies believed him.”
“Mind you, this that sharks’ first time dabbling in gravity.”
“I know they’re tough animals, but damn, that’s gotta sting.”
“Ehh, I give it an 8. Too much splash didn’t enter cleanly.”
“Regular fish just minding their business THEN SKY SHARK!!!!”
“6/10. Dismount was good, but too much of a splash.”
“None of his buddies are gonna believe he went skydiving.”
“Dude that must’ve HURT.”
“His friends will never believe him.”
“That shark has a fear of heights now.”
“That shark aboutta have some crazy dreams now.”
“Bro, try to swim his way down.”
“I know the shark screamed a little when he cut the rope.”
“We have sharks skydiving before GTA 6 is crazy work.”
“Gravity must have felt crazy.”
“Nobody is talking about how sharp that knife is.”
“He thought he was swimming to heaven.”
