Local fishermen found and rescued a melon-headed whale trapped in a fishing net set up in the waters of Manila Bay off Samal, Bataan, last Tuesday morning.

Fisherman Efren Guanzon of Barangay Wawa, Abucay, told the Manila Bulletin Thursday that they first saw four whales entangled in the fishing net around 6 a.m.

Three of them managed to free themselves and swim away, however, the fourth could barely move, Guanzon said.

At this point, the fishermen helped the whale untangle itself.

Mariel Flores, a veterinarian of Ocean Adventure inside the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Subic Freeport, confirmed the sea mammal sustained some cuts.

Veterinarians from SBMA, with the help of the fishermen, placed the weak whale in a stretcher and loaded it in a motorized fishing banca.