Image via couriermail.com.au //

Good stuff…

A recreational diver in the Gold Coast who cut a shark net in order to free a trapped whale has narrowly avoided a fine.

The man (whose name is Django which is easily the coolest name of all time) dived into the water near Burleigh Heads to cut the net and untangle the whale on Tuesday, which was reportedly stuck about eight to nine metres deep.

Upon leaving the area, inspectors from Fisheries Queensland warned him he could possibly be fined for entering the exclusion area, but as of yesterday Fisheries Queensland declared he wouldn’t.

A statement from the organisation stated that Django was served with two Fisheries Infringement Notices for entering the exclusion zone around shark control program equipment off Burleigh Heads, but that he would not be fined because “he has no previous record of infringements with the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol”.

Even if he was fined however, odds are he would have little trouble paying it off, as more than $16,000 was raised online to help him pay any fine he was issued. Now, a statement on the fundraising website has stated that “any money raised over and above the fine will go to a charity that specialises in research and education for these great mammals”, which is just so sick.

Issuing a warning to the general public, Queensland Fisheries Minister Mark Furner has urged the public to not try to free whales from nets, with people who have done so in the past copping fines at a max of $26,690.

“It is important that people allow the professionals to do their jobs in circumstances like this,” Mr Furner said.