When this local civilian filmed a fishing boat in his harbor, he had no idea that his life was about to change forever. He was already aimlessly pointing his camera when he suddenly spotted something sticking out of the water.
At first, he didn’t know what he was looking at. But the giant object soon gave him the fright of a lifetime. Nobody would have believed him if he hadn’t been there with his camera!
Mateo filming
The local civilian who shot the exciting footage was Mateo. He was just a normal guy who stepped out in the early morning, trying to film some extra footage for a project he was working on.
Little did he know that he would soon get much more than he bargained for when he entered the city’s harbor. It was early morning, so the docks were quiet.
But that’s when Mateo spotted something in the water…
Tip of the iceberg
The object Mateo spotted in the water was small, brown, and seemed scaly. The amateur cameraman had never seen anything like it, so he used this opportunity to inspect the strange object with his camera.
The object already captivated Mateo when it appeared to him as a small floating thing. But Mateo did not realize that this was just the tip of the iceberg because, underneath the surface, there was so much more going on.
Zooming in
This particular action of filming the bizarre floating object would later prove to be vital. But for now, Mateo was just happy with capturing anything out of the ordinary on his quiet morning stroll.
He used the zoom function on his portable camera to get a closer look at the bizarre thing. But no matter how far he zoomed in, he could not figure out what exactly he was looking at.
But then…
Six fishermen
But a sound was heard right after Mateo started his fascinating documentation of the brown blob. It came from the main cabin on the large fishing boat behind the object.
Mateo pointed his camera upward and saw that six fishermen had awoken from their slumber. They were probably ready to set out to sea to snare their catch of the day.
Mateo greeted them while also pointing down at the object.
Rudely interrupted
The local fishermen acknowledged Mateo’s presence but were clearly unaware of what he was pointing at. They saw his hand movements as just an extension of his greeting and continued with fastening ropes and packing equipment for their sea voyage.
But that all stopped in an instant when a loud bang was heard. The fishermen got an unexpected fright. But the curious Mateo could already guess where the bang came from.
Rocking the boat
Mateo put the camera’s viewfinder back on his eye and searched the area for the brown object in the water. It didn’t take him long to find it, but he noticed something else when he focused.
The object was moving around. The movements seemed just minor above water, but it became clear to Mateo that something more was going on beneath the surface because the entire fishing boat was rocking because of it.
Holding on
The local fishermen got spooked by their boat moving. It started small, but after about a minute, the entire ship moved around tremendously. The fishermen scattered around the boat’s deck and tried to hold on to the vessel railing with gripped hands.
Mateo could see the confusion in their eyes as they attempted to remain on their feet. “What the hell is going on guys?” One of the men uttered.
Growing in size
Mateo did not answer at first. He pointed his camera again at the water, trying to identify what caused this commotion. But when Mateo’s recorder’s lens focused on the water again, the 45-year-old cameraman got a major fright.
The small brown blob that stuck out of the water before had grown in size by at least ten times. It was now a couple of feet long, which explained the bang a little…
Warning the fishermen
It must have slammed against the boat somehow, which caused the vessel to move. Mateo wondered if the brown blob that grew in size significantly had some more secrets below the surface.
But he had to warn the fishermen before he could figure that out. Mateo lowered his camera and spoke for the first time. “Look overboard, guys, see what is floating in the water below.” The fishermen obliged and leaned in.
Restless water
“What is that thing?” One of the confused fishermen said. The men were at a loss for words and hoped Mateo could answer them, but he was just as gobsmacked as they were.
And whatever it was, it was not done with its spectators yet. Because just moments after all the men started staring, the object moved upward again. The water around it started getting restless, and bubbles formed.
“Something’s happening!”
Pushing the boat
The entire ship started to move from left to right, and panic occurred because of it. It was like something huge was trying to push the fishing boat to the side.
Mateo redirected his camera so he wouldn’t miss a single moment of action. And the action was something his camera would not lack on this day. The turn of events that would come his way today would be life-changing.
Something much larger
After the water finally stopped foaming and splashing, the crew and Mateo were all shocked. That tiny thing that floated in the water moments before was long gone. It had made way for something much larger and was now fully above the water’s edge.
Open mouths and sweaty palms were present among all onlookers as they witnessed the object in its full glory this time. “It’s an animal!” The lead fisherman stated.
A detailed description
What kind of animal it was, the fisherman could not say. But now that it was mostly above water, all spectators could see that the sea creature was at least 60 feet long.
He was mostly brown but also bore lighter spots, and all across its back, it seemed to have small spikes sticking out. Mateo became more confused by the minute and asked the fishermen if they had ever seen anything like this before.
A life at sea
The men looked down over the edge of their ship and inspected every part of the animal from up high. But unfortunately for Mateo, all the men shook their heads.
Most of them had worked and lived their entire life, and with that lifestyle, they witnessed the most bizarre things. Yet this particular creature was something new for all of them.
Mateo could see the confusion and fear on their faces.
Moving forward
It was something the men didn’t want to touch with a ten-foot pole. But the fact that they wanted to get away from the creature was not something the animal took into consideration.
It wasn’t done with the rusty old fishing boat just yet. Water started bubbling again. And this time, it moved the giant animal forward. The brown mass made its way through the water and slowly circled the boat.
Get away quickly
The sudden movement in the water caused the men on board to panic again. They were afraid and wanted to get away from the aquatic creature as quickly as possible.
The lead fisherman, therefore, ordered his men to raise the anchor and set out for sea. The man called “aye aye captain,” as seen in the movies. And after that, they all sprung into action.
But there was a surprise waiting…
Spectacular footage
While the fishermen were hastily getting ready to board the ship, Mateo used his time to keep filming. His camera was pointed directly toward the animal, and through the lens of his trusty device, Mateo tried to figure out what kind of creature this was.
He was still on shore, which gave him a sense of security. The footage Mateo shot was spectacular, and the curious cameraman awaited, nervous for the next thing to happen.
Something is off
But soon after Mateo started his second captivating scene, something completely unexpected happened. There was something off about this giant creature, something Mateo had not noticed before. He squinted his eyes and followed the animal’s movement closely.
Every other ocean-based animal would have shot back into deeper water the moment the fishing boat turned on its motor. But somehow, this creature remained creepily calm. A bit too calm for Mateo’s liking.
Not scared at all
Mateo stared at the creature’s odd movements with utter confusion. No animal could remain this calm in such an environment. Mateo saw how it floated from left to right as if it had nowhere else to be.
Right before the boat turned on its jets so it could leave the harbor, Mateo intervened. He called out to the fishermen and asked them to stop what they were doing.
He had discovered something.
Stop right now!
“Stop, stop with everything you are doing!” Mateo shouted as loud as he could. His voice barely made it over the loud engine from the boat, but it was enough to reach the leading fishermen.
The uniformed man turned his head and looked at Mateo with large eyes. “Turn off your motor; I have to tell you something!” Mateo called out this time. The lead fisherman obliged and blew his whistle as a command.
Well-oiled team
The other five fishermen fell in line and immediately shut down the boat’s engine. Mateo found it fascinating to see how this well-oiled team operated and also tried to film the crew’s process.
After the engine was shut down, all six men approached the ship’s edge and listened closely to what Mateo had to say. “What is it, mister?” The men on the boat asked.
Mateo invited the crew to watch the animal more closely.
It isn’t normal
Mateo pointed at the creature in the water and directed the crew toward its tail. Mateo stated that the animal didn’t move in a normal way. “The back fin does not move from left to right as seen with a normal fish.
But it also doesn’t move laterally. It just lies there still, yet the fish is still moving. That shouldn’t be possible.” The crew agreed that this was weird and asked about Mateo’s conclusion.
Selfie stick
Mateo smiled and said that he had a small test he wanted to run. He reached into the backpack he wore on his back and pulled out an extendable selfie stick.
He usually carried it with him but hardly ever used it. But today was different; today, it was the perfect tool for the job. Mateo screwed his camera on top of the stick and lowered the waterproof device into the harbor’s water.
Inspecting the footage
The camera had captured some footage, that much Mateo knew for sure. But what it had captured was still a mystery. That’s why Mateo was a bit nervous when he pulled his camera out of the water to inspect the footage.
And rightfully so, because the moment Mateo saw what his camera had filmed, he turned as pale as a corpse. The fishermen noticed this, too, and asked Mateo what was happening.
Running along the docks
But Mateo did not respond. He was too busy staring at the images on his camera. After the recording ended, Mateo finally snapped out of his trance. He gripped the edges of the recorder and moved from his spot for the first time since he encountered the creature.
With haste in his step, Mateo made his way along the docks to eventually reach the fishermen’s boat. He had to show them something…
Showing what he found
The crew helped Mateo climb the ladder that led to the deck of their boat. And when Mateo got there, he wasted no time. He turned his camera around and showed the footage it captured to the lead fisherman and his crew.
At first, it was hard to see what the camera captured underwater since the device needed to focus. But when the image became clear, all men experienced the same shock Mateo did.
Going down there
“We need to get in the water,” the lead fisherman stated. His crew agreed and ran to the back of the ship to get their captain’s wetsuit. The entire crew helped to hoist the man into the latex gear, and afterward, the captain dropped himself down in the water.
He dove down right next to the giant animal because, after seeing the footage, he wasn’t afraid anymore to do so. His crew watched nervously.
Bad news
The lead fisherman stayed underwater for a couple of minutes before resurfacing. His face gave away a sense of sadness and defeat. And it seemed to Mateo that the crew was already aware that their captain would provide them with such a face.
The ship’s leader took off his mask and started talking. “It’s bad news guys, awful.” The crew hung their heads, clearly knowing what this meant, but Mateo was left in the dark.
What it was
The captain explained that the animal in the water was a small Sperm Whale. Mateo looked at the captain with a confused look on his face. He knew what whales looked like, and that wasn’t it.
“Whales don’t have spikes and usually aren’t that color.” But the captain assured Mateo that he was right. He stated that the whale was, unfortunately, dead. The reason it moved was because air was trapped underneath its blubber.
The reason for their sadness
The air bubbles moved the animal upward and pushed it forward because they made the Whale buoyant. Mateo understood that this could explain some of his questions, but what still bothered him was that the fishermen all seemed to know what was happening.
“Why were you all this sad when you discovered what it was?” Mateo asked. The captain said that it wasn’t the fact that it died. They were sad because of how it died…
How it died
The lead fisherman explained that the Sperm Whale did not die of natural causes. “If it did, we would not be looking at a spikey and brown animal,” the captain stated.
He said that the Whale died of an explosion. The man shared that the entire bottom half of the Whale was blown to bits. Even the topside of the animal is deformed and damaged.
That’s why we can see its bones sticking out.
The rumors are true
Mateo couldn’t believe it. The horrifying news that the ship’s captain provided made Mateo’s stomach turn a bit. He looked down and saw the carcass floating in the water. “Who would do such a thing?” He asked the ship’s crew.
The men looked at the confused Mateo and said they had a decent idea who did this. “We wouldn’t believe it at first, but this proves that the rumors are true,” one of them said.
Getting liftoff
After this vague message about rumors, the crew sprung into action, like they knew exactly what to do. Every manned a station on deck, and within minutes, the crew started working together to lift the giant sea creature out of the water.
Mateo did not understand why this was necessary, but he wasn’t in a position to question the fishermen’s motives. “We have to hurry up,” one of the shouted halfway through.
It’s on board
Within half an hour, the entire Sperm Whale was out of the water and onto the deck of their fishing boat. The men walked around the animal and inspected the terrible damage the explosion had caused.
It was a sad sight. One that no man should ever witness. And Mateo would soon find out the reason for these gruesome injuries. The crew also gave the water in the harbor one last glance.
Please explain
They stated that it was all clear. “Like the animal was never down there.” Mateo had no idea why this was important and why these explosions even occurred, but he wanted to understand.
He approached the leading fisherman and introduced himself properly this time. He told him that his name was Mateo, and he admitted that he was confused by all of this.
“Can you please explain it to me?”
Strange vibrations
The captain introduced himself as Diego. He owned the boat and worked out at sea for well over 30 years. “The reason why we are this sad about this Whale dying like this is because it indicates illegal activities in the area.
For a while now, we have detected strange vibrations in the water when out at sea. Our sonor picks them up, but we have never been able to find any proof until now.”
Explosions
Mateo asked the captains what these injuries, combined with the vibrations in the water, meant. And that’s when the captain revealed that there were rumors of illegal fishing operations deep at sea.
Operations that used explosives to catch fish. “It’s an easy way to make a large haul, but it destroys entire ecosystems as a result. We talked to other fishermen who returned to the harbor.
And they all reported the same sonor findings.
Having a mission
“We need to find these people,” one of the crew members shouted. Both Diego and Mateo agreed. Not just that, Mateo also wanted to help the fishermen catch whoever did this horrible thing.
They started the engine again and made their way to the open water together. After leaving the Harbor, it was Mateo who called the police. They needed every help they could get to catch these criminals.
Police involvement
Within half an hour, the fast police boats had caught up with the more rugged fishing ship. The uniformed man climbed on board and saw the whale for the first time.
They asked for details, and Mateo and Diego tried to explain precisely what they had found and what they thought had happened. After their explanation was done, the search for the criminals could commence.
And they did not have to search very long.
Picking up something
Because moments after the explanation to the police ended, the boat’s sonor device picked up a giant spike in the water. They were the biggest vibrations their onboard computer ever measured, which indicated that the explosion was very close.
The police officers and the fishermen all looked at each other with the same determined look. They finally had the chance to catch this evil man. It was now or probably never.
Let’s go deeper
Captain Diego blew his whistle again and ordered his crew to sail toward deeper water. The fact that these criminals were never caught before meant that they operated far from shore.
So, venturing further into the ocean was their best bet to find them. Captain Diego’s calculated guess turned out to be the right call because the next clue to the criminal’s whereabouts soon popped up right in front of them.
Waves formen
Both the police officer vessel and Captain Diego’s fishing boat were slowly but steadily moving closer to the source of the vibrations; the sonor on board their ship proved that.
But the largest evidence that they were heading in the right direction appeared out of nowhere. Mateo was filming the calm ocean before him when waves started forming right in front of the boat.
They started small but grew larger quickly…
Spotting something in the distance
And suddenly the determined Mateo spotted something in the distance. It wasn’t clearly visible to all, but with the zoom function on his camera, Mateo managed to see more than the average human eye.
A large column of water popped up right on the horizon. Mateo pointed out the strange occurrence to the men on board, and they confirmed that this could only happen when a large explosion took place.
Top of the list
This was it. The criminals had just set off an explosion, and with that, they led the team right to their location. Diego put his ship into overdrive, and together, they rushed toward the source of the explosion.
This was exciting and scary at the same time, especially for Mateo, who was just a simple civilian. The craziest thing he ever did was climb a medium-sized mountain. So, hunting criminals definitely topped that.
Proof of impact
When the boat got closer, Mateo already saw evidence of the environmental destruction the explosions caused. Hundreds of dead fish came floating upward and surrounded their boat. And it didn’t just affect the fish population in the ocean.
Large chunks of coral reef broke off and came floating to the surface. It was a lot to take in, and they were still at least a few hundred meters removed from where they needed to be.
Getting angry
“The was horrible,” Mateo said as he wiped away some tears from his face. Mateo felt his heart break as he gazed upon the utter destruction these criminals had caused.
It was hard to believe that anyone could be so selfish because some easy money for a quick haul could never be more important than the precious life they were destroying.
“We have to catch these people,” Mateo said angrily.
What he could do
Mateo knew he could not help with the arrest once they had caught up with the criminals. But when he looked at his camera, he realized there was another way he could help.
He was going to share all the footage he had taken with the authorities, and maybe by doing so, he could provide some evidence regarding these criminal activities. This thought would turn out to be very important.
The motherlode
Mateo already had a lot of footage but wanted to get a little more. He filmed the dead coral reef floating next to the boat and added some footage of the killed fish on top of that.
They were painful images to shoot, but Mateo knew it was worth it. But the motherlode of evidence was about to present itself. Mateo turned his camera and spotted the criminal’s fishing boat for the first time.
Boarding the ship
Captain Diego said that police parked their vessels right next to the mysterious boat and entered simultaneously. Mateo was also allowed to come along to film their findings for evidence.
He only needed to promise that he would stay at a safe distance. Police apprehended the fishermen on board and quickly discovered their cargo space. It was filled with fish, more than Mateo ever saw.
But there was a problem…
Interrogating the men
The fishermen denied all wrongdoing and told the police they were unaware of any explosions in the area. Their reaction was invigorating to everyone involved, and at first, they thought they would get away with it.
But after the police found explosive charges in a hidden compartment of the boat, they had enough initial evidence to make an arrest. Mateo, of course, documented the entire thing.
And that would prove to be important.
Key witness
One week later, the day in court arrived. The criminals whore orange jumpers and were chained to their tables. And Mateo was there as well. He was brought in as a key witness in the case since he documented the entire thing.
The illegal fishermen started out the trail with a confident smirk on their faces. But all that confidence faded once Mateo presented the judge with his video evidence.
The film proves it all
His shared footage formed a perfect documentation of all their wrongdoings. A clear story was seen from harbor to ship. And with that perfect chronological evidence, the judge had more than enough to conclude this case.
But before he made his final call, he thanked Mateo for all his hard work. “Nobody would have believed this without your clever thinking and excellent camera work.” The judge then slammed his hammer and found the men guilty.
A friends call
A few days after the trial concluded, Mateo’s life took an unexpected turn towards the spotlight. And he had his filmmaking to thank for it. His morning began like any other, with no hint of fame at all.
It was a friend’s excited call that eventually brought him the news: “Mate, you’re famous; check the paper!” Intrigued and slightly bewildered, Mateo wandered to his mailbox, where he found the day’s newspaper.
Front page
Unfolding the paper, Mateo was greeted by the shocking sight of his camera footage dominating the front page. His image of the dead whale was displayed all over the front page.
It was accompanied by an article that mentioned Mateo by name and called him a local hero. According to the newspaper, the footage Mateo captured was instrumental in uncovering what was described as the biggest illegal fishing operation ever caught.
Getting attention
His quick thinking, combined with the bravery of a few local fishermen, led to this monumental discovery. And the repercussions of Mateo’s actions did not end at the courtroom doors.
The incident ignited a wave of awareness in the area. It made communities from all around the coastal area work together so that an environmental disaster like this one would never happen again.
They even got the attention of large environmental organizations.
Face of change
Mateo was proud that his actions started such a large-scale operation. A short while ago, he was just a simple civilian with a camera in the right place and time.
And now he was the face of change, the start of something much bigger than himself. Mateo was even asked to speak at local environmental events. Usually, he spoke a few opening words and, quickly after, gave the microphone to the real experts.
What they got
But Mateo’s story proved that anyone could be a hero if that person is willing to make an effort to make a change. And the result of that change was felt also by the criminals responsible for all this destruction.
The judge gave them a major fine on top of 15 years in prison. It was the maximum penalty. But everyone in the courtroom that day agreed that Mateo’s evidence asked for it.
A massive win!
This verdict sent a strong message to would-be offenders about the consequences of harming marine life and ecosystems for profit. The sentencing wasn’t just a win for Mateo and the local fishermen who aided in the capture of these criminals; it was a victory for the entire marine conservation community.
It underscored the importance of protecting the oceans and their inhabitants and demonstrated the power of individual action coupled with community support to effect change.