705 pound Rhode Island shark info?

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Scubaroo

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Anyone got any info on the 705 pound shark caught near Rhode Island? There's a link to a video article on CNN's web site, but it's subscriber only.
 
I looked on every news site I know of and can't find any other mention of it.

Tom
 
Found the following on a local abc affiliate out of Providence, RI. Really doesn't say all that much...


It's an epic tale of man vs. beast as several local fisherman catch a huge mako shark off Block Island. The shark measures eleven and a half feet and weighs 705 pounds. With razor sharp teeth this shark could give jaws a run for his money, and catching him was no easy task.

At first the shark bit off a regular fishing line and did some acrobatics trying to get away.

It did two jumps in a row, to see a shark jump 10-15 feet in the air is unbelievable. - Michael Houlihan, Photographer

We knew it was big but we weren't sure what it was until it jumped out of the water. - Bob Blomgren, Fisherman

Shane Skowyra worked the reels trying to pull the monster shark back toward the boat.

I was determined to reel it in by myself but after fighting it for 45 minutes, I knew that wasn't going to happen. - Shane Skowyra, Fisherman

Even once the fisherman used the harpoon, it took another hour and a half to overcome the mako and haul it on board.

Experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say despite this catch swimmers have nothing to worry about.

The likelihood of someone getting bit by a shark in Rhode Island is extremely remote. I like to think the safest place in Rhode Island is in the water. - Wes Pratt, NOAA

That's hard to believe, but it may be true now that one huge shark is on dry land.
 
Bit pointless then wasn't it. Not trying to start any fishermen verus conservationist debates, but really, who benefits from this. Anything I hunt or catch I eat.
 
A couple of fishermen off Block Island, R.I., reeled in a little more than they were expecting -- a Mako shark more than 11-feet-long.

The fisherman chased the shark for nearly an hour before hauling it on deck.

It weighed in at 705 pounds. That's still 13 pounds short of beating the all-time record for largest catch.
 
Shortfin fight like hell. If you aren't going to keep one of them, it isn't worth the risk of bringing it aboard. If they were local fishermen from New England, and caught shortfin mako, I'd be willing to bet they sold what they didn't eat, and may have kept the jaws as a trophy.

What else would they do with it? It's too tasty and valuable to use as bait, and would make a really smelly and inconvenient paperweight.



Scubaroo once bubbled...
Ah - a mako.

Hope they ate least plan to eat it.

WreckWriter once bubbled...
I doubt it.
 

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