The Sea Shepherd crew oversaw the release of 4 whale sharks and 2 Bryde’s whales from entanglement in legally set fish nets. One whale shark was cut free by Sea Shepherd divers and the other animals were freed by the fishermen by order of the Gabonese Fisheries Enforcement Agency
With the conclusion of the five-month campaign a ceremony was held in Libreville on September 15th to mark the end of the Operation. The Gabonese Minister of State for Fisheries and Livestock the honorable Gabriel Tchango announced that he was in discussions with Equatorial Guinea to hopefully expand the operation next year to other countries in the region. The minister said that, “the contribution of Sea Shepherd has been immense, but we need three Bob Barkers if we are to control our waters effectively.”
Operation Albacore was a tremendous success.