Watch: Aussie diver saves shark tangled up in fishing line from painful death

For most divers, coming face-to-face with a shark is a nightmare scenario.

While out on a dive in Australia's Byron Bay, local instructor Inaki Aizpun came across a two-metre grey nurse shark tangled in a fishing line.

However, instead of fleeing, Mr Aizpun followed the shark to help set him free, saving the shark from a slow and painful death.

The shark later returned with a buddy, and the diver says the shark looked him in the eyes as if to say, "thank you".