A sperm whale has been found entangled in illegally placed fishing nets in the waters off the west coast of Italy. Divers and the coastguard mounted a rescue, but the whale’s movement was hampered by the fact that it was too frightened to allow humans to approach. The coast guard said it has stepped up efforts to combat illegal fishing this year, confiscating illegal fishing nets more than 100 kilometers in length, but such incidents still occur. Sperm whales, which are often illegally hunted for the “ambergris” in their bodies, face multiple threats to their survival, although they are listed as an endangered species and the number of whales remaining is unknown.
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