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Vets to rescue in last minute operation to save Macduff Aquarium shark

Captain and the hook.
Captain and the hook.

A shark at a north-east aquarium has been saved by two caring vets after he bit off more than he could chew.

The young bull huss shark arrived at Macduff Marine Aquarium with a large fishing hook protruding from its mouth.

In a fitting tribute staff at the facility quickly named him Captain Hook.

But while he initially seemed to be doing well staff at the aquarium were given a nasty surprise when they discovered the metal hook had disappeared – the shark had swallowed it.

As a result Captain Hook stopped feeding and specialist fish vets had to be called in from Inverness to perform an emergency X-ray.

It was then they discovered the hook was embedded in the lining of the shark’s throat.

Shark-operation-2Shark-operation

Vets Chris Matthews, of Fish Vet Group, and Alistair Cliff, of Crown Vets Referrals, could only operate in an attempt to give the shark a chance at surviving.

Last night, aquarium employee Lauren Smith said it was “amazing” to see.

Ms Smith took part in the operation at the attraction’s hastily made up medical theatre.

“I’ve done lots of hands on research with sharks, this was the first time I’d been involved with surgery like this,” she added.

“We were so delighted that the hook was removed in its entirety. We were even happier when Captain Hook came round from the anaesthetic and in less than 24 hours he was back eating his favourite food, squid.”

Captain Hook has now returned to the attraction’s Sandy Sea Floor exhibit, but his story will be published in the journal Veterinary Record later this summer.

Hook joins three baby bull huss sharks that the team at the aquarium successfully bred earlier this year.

The pups, which took eleven months to develop, are the first the attraction has ever hatched. The three are named Buddy, Bob and Biblet, and are about 5cm long.

Breeding programmes for lesser spotted dogfish and thornback rays are ongoing.