Shark hooked on longline gear

We were diving in Cenderawasih Bay last month and came upon this approximately six-foot reef shark which had become tightly bound to a barrel sponge, with at least a quarter-mile of heavy line snaking through the reef system. Our guide was able to cut the animal free, although he didn't remove the hook (six-foot shark). Other guides found several more smaller sharks further down the reef slope. Ironically, we had been told that the dive site had been named by Dr. Mark Erdman, Shark Conservation Director at Re:wild. These images seem, sadly, to fit this forum. We had not seen another bat for two days, and were well offshore--these animals surely would have died had we not happened on them.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by RickMo
Added context