SANTA CATALINA ISLAND, Calif. -- The Harbor Patrol at the small island town of Avalon is used to unusual calls and was called out to deflate a black sea bass last week.

According to an article in The Log, a weekly newspaper that covers recreational boating, the Harbor Patrol carries a special sterile tool on board its boats to let the air out of the pectoral fin bladders of endangered black sea bass.

The massive fish are endangered and catching them is strictly prohibited.

Several giant specimens of the fish live in the waters of Santa Catalina Island, and are tame enough to take food from divers' hands.

Patrol officers say one of those fish got snagged by a fisherman last week, and was brought to the surface.

Cutting the fish loose was to no avail, officers told The Log, because its pectoral bladder had swelled up with air.

The bottom-dwelling fish could not tolerate being reeled up to the surface quickly, and was floating on the surface.

The Harbor Patrol was called by the anglers, and Patrol Supervisor Orne Cameron used a special sterile tool to let the air out of the fish's bladder.

As patrol Officer Curt Cameron moved water through its gills, the fish began to recover and soon swam off.

A diver kept on eye on the big bass for several minutes, then signaled with a "thumbs up" that the fish had recovered.