A cormorant entangled with fishing line forced the Mossos d'Esquadra to intervene on Monday on the breakwater of the Mar Bella beach, in Barcelona, after several citizens alerted that the bird could not free itself by its own means.
The scene concentrated attention on a very busy point of the Barcelona coastline for an unusual reason for a police patrol. The agents had to put the animal on a boat, immobilize it by holding its beak, and carefully remove the fishing line and hooks that were embedded in it.
The agents removed the line and hooks on a police boat
Once on board, the Mossos d'Esquadra completed the rescue maneuver without the cormorant showing apparent injuries once the fishing material that kept it trapped was removed.
After releasing it, the bird was returned to the sea in front of Mar Bella and quickly moved away from the boat after being freed. The intervention took place in the vicinity of the breakwater of this beach on the Barcelona coastline.
The rescue on Mar Bella beach received congratulations on social media
Later, the Mossos d'Esquadra disseminated images and details of the rescue on their social media profiles, where the action received congratulatory messages from citizens who followed the intervention.
The initial alert came from people who were in the area and detected the animal trapped by fishing line. That call allowed the patrol mobilized to the Mar Bella beach to remove the cormorant from the breakwater and remove the hooks that were embedded in it.
Once the operation was completed, the bird was free, with no apparent injuries, and returned to the water from the police boat.