"It has obviously been on for a few years. It's impeding its gills. It's all the way pressed up to its pecs, dug in a few inches all the way around," explained Michael Moody, a captain for Ocean Eco Tours. "If it digs in any harder, it could push back its pecs back farther and eventually it will kill it.



The Department of Land and Natural Resources issued a permit to Ocean Eco Tours for an emergency disentanglement using a baited hook and line fishing method. The company made its first attempt on Saturday outside the mouth of the harbor.



"A couple people tried to grab it -- Good Samaritans -- trying to get it off on their own," said Moody.



One of them was free diver Bradley Beckett. The Captain Cook resident works for a tour company at the harbor.



"I grabbed onto line, went for a little ride, was not able to get my knife under the line. I let go," he described. "My heart rate was through the roof and I could not hang on."