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Subscribe to RSSA massive mako shark is hauled in off the California coast. KNBC's Gordon Tokumatsu reports.
LOS ANGELES -- A monster of the sea was killed and brought in to Marina del Rey – a shark so heavy that it damaged the brand-new scale at the dock.
View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.
The 900-pound shark took some eight men to lift it out of the water Monday afternoon at Del Rey Landing, the marina's general manager said.
"Our digital scale goes to 750, and it was bent before half of the shark was off the ground," said General Manager Craig Campbell, who was present when the giant shark was brought in.
The fishermen's battle at sea with the shark broke the on-boat equipment as well, Campbell said. They fishermen had to tow the shark back to the marina because it was too heavy to pull aboard, he said.
Campbell said the fish was thought to be a mako shark, a species that is often eaten. Makos that are brought in to the marina are usually in the 300-to-400-pound range, he said.
The fishermen who landed the shark were about 15 miles off the coast, according to the Marina del Rey Patch, which first reported the catch Tuesday. Campbell suspected it was caught on the far side of Catalina Island.
He said he didn't know the names of the fisherman, though he thought they were locals.
See original story, video on NBCLosAngeles.com
Campbell said the fishermen don't keep boats at Del Rey Landing, which is a luxury facility designed for yachts.
The Marina del Rey Patch reported that the fishermen had gone to sea with the intent of catching a shark.
Most sharks brought in to the landing are donated to downtown Los Angeles food banks, Campbell said.
"Mako is fantastic," Campell said. "It's very good eating."
Campbell said he was uncertain what happened to the shark carcass and did not know where the fishermen took it. He said he thought they may have taken it down to a Redondo Beach marina, but a marina manager and the owner of a sport fishing business there said the shark hadn't appeared in the harbor to the south.
The fish appeared to be either a longfin mako or shortfin mako in photos, said Heal the Bay coastal resources director Sarah Sikich. Neither species is threatened or endangered, but longfin and shortfin mako are both listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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Leave a Comment:
Headline "Fishermen reel in 900 FOOT shark". That's a lot of shark in anyone's book.
What a waste !!!
Of course, they hid it quickly. They should be ashamed.
I hope Fish & Wildlife documents that the shark was not finned - which is illegal in California.
How do you figure it is a waste? Mako sharks do not urinate thru their skin, They taste great.
I agree Lee. So now because we officially have Great Whites on both coasts, its an open slaughter on all sharks? Come on guys. I fish up here in Alaska with my husband ALOT. This is nothing more than a thrill kill and disgusting. As we call it up here, want and waste. They didn't even know if they could eat it for sure. So that told me everything I needed. Typical for the hype right now. 900 lbs or I'm going to say over a thousand pounds of meat went nowhere I'm sure. Sad. Just because they are in the water, doesn't give everyone a right to go out and kill them like that. Come on. This isn't Jaws and it isn't 1975!
What a beautiful animal it was... shame on people...
It's time for Summer of the Shark II.
Here's a news flash for everyone. Sharks live in water. So why do we need stories about shark sightings? This story is barely newsworthy, if only for the amazing size of this animal. Hopefully the meat does get used.
Uhh, its 900 pound, not 900 foot.
Oh and shark meat is high in mercury as is any large, top of the food chain fish. So, bon appetit, idiots.
Megacat Sportfishing
I own and operate a commercial sportfishing business. Catching this shark is nothing more than a travesty, however I don't think these anglers were intentionally trying to go out and destroy the mako population. I think they may have been naive in trying to catch this big shark, and the fact it was a big breeding female, and perhaps their ego's got the best of them and they just wanted to catch this fish.
It's difficult to judge someone for doing something that is currently legal to do with a California Fishing License. The challenge is it takes years of knowledge, of many days on the water, to understand the fish populations and to practice conservation minded, ethical, sustainable fishing practices, because there are gaps between those practices, and the current regulations.
The best we can do as sportfishing operators is to educate our anglers, to create a connection between the living things in the ocean and food, but recreational anglers that have a boat, a fishing license, and some chum have to take it upon themselves to make those connections, and frankly it's not something everyone wants, has the time for, or perhaps even the capacity to understand.
I have killed many animals to feed my family, including many mako and thresher sharks, so I need to be careful about being hypocritical, but many of the top anglers I know, don't kill sharks any longer. And several, like the folks of OCEARCH, have moved from killing sharks to catching them for science and trying to protect them. The needle will move if more people are aware of their natural environment, and the fact we're all connected.
In some ways I'm just learning. This year I've partnered with the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation to start San Diego's shark first tagging program by a sportfishing business. We can do more, and we should do more, be careful to not judge people when we may not be perfect ourselves, and at the end of the day we have a choice. If we're not part of the answer, we're part of the problem
I hope to gosh the shark is either used or donated for food. If not, what a waste.
It was probably a mother to be loaded with pups.
Chet your right it was most likely a female, they are the ones who get to be this size not the males. Regardless, that was unneccesary. Was it going after someone? Yeah doubt it. Thrill kill and not kewl.
i love sharks . what is next we are going to go after seals or great white . the only type of fishing people should be allow to do is catching small fish or crabs or lobster . its like killing wolves . another animal people feel the need to kill . which it serves no purpose
Looks like it, since there are no claspers.
Overnight the shark fins to Japan and you will pay for the gas on the trip. Mako is strong shark meat, Blacktip is what is mostly sold in the markets and your best bet. South Seas Seafood Manager.
Big tough guy fishermen, fn scumbags get a kick out of murdering defenseless animals because they have small wee wee's. Fn disgraceful hicks
R U Gay?
Nope, just not white trash like yourself
I shouldn't have to point this out, brian, but blaming something on the presumed size of others' genitalia is pretty white trash in itself.
Yeah, sharks are totally defenseless. Right.
Sorry, but humans are at the top of the food chain. If you feel guilty about that fact then I feel bad for you, but it doesn't change anything. Go cry more.
Jimwhite540,
I shouldn't have to point this out but I was being demonstrative in my description of the heinousness and barbarism of their pointless act. When in Rome...
TJP77
If you think you are the top of the food chain why don't you go swimming with some sharks?
What an idiot.
Brian you are contradicting yourself. First sharks are defenseless, then you say if humans are at the top of the food chain why dont you go swimming with sharks. Implying that sharks are in fact not defenseless.
Citizen,
Sigh,
Sharks are defenseless while getting attacked by weapons made and yielded by humans safely aboard a boat. These same sharks are not so defenseless in their own habitat against a weaponless human. Understand or would you like me to draw you a picture?
Boy oh boy Brian. Someone sounds like they need a nap today. Up too late last night? Its a fish. Kill it & eat it. Its what humans, and every other carnivore/omnivore on the planet does.
With a sharp decline of the shark population especially in the Pacific, this is quite disturbing glorifying the killing of this shark
Who cares?
I care.
What brilliance stating it was either a Short Fin (I. oxyrinchus) or a Long Fin (I. paucus) Mako shark. There are only two species. Long Fin and Short Fin. That's like saying the suspect is either male or female.
I care. This is shameful and it's embarrassing that msnbc gave them press coverage. Giving a giant pile of shark meat to a food donation center is not sufficient rationale for killing this animal. That does not make it OKAY. The largest individuals are the most important to a population and these yahoos had to kill it. For WHAT?
I care! It was not necessary to kill this shark and I support all the reasons given.
That's because all the bone-headed Asian people just cut the fins off of sharks and throw the shark back in to die. They don't give a damn if the sharks are endangered. They have to have their stupid shark fin soup, which has no nutritional value, is practically tasteless, and is high in mercury.
Guess these idiots never heard of catch and release
It's called Fillet and release in the South......
A shark that size was likely a female and a breeder. When will we ever learn that it does not make any sense to kill these creatures for macho sake ? We have cameras, videos, etc, that shark could have been released to breed. Killing things for the sake of killing them makes no sense. Catch and release !
Sweet catch! Little bit of discrepancy in the reporting... video says 800 lb, headline and article say 900 lb... but none the less ~ Awesome!
Okay. So they catch a huge shark. Take a few pics and release it.
Hope they show many people what idiots they are.
How do you release that thing. I can't imagine bring it in.
It was dead. They probably sold it to a fish meat store. They didn't release it.
Mary, you just cut the line near the hook and let them go. The hook will quickly dissolve in the salt water and its not bother to them. Scientists do it this way all the time.
thats a short fin mako .you can tell by the rounded tips of the pectoral fins. and they are protected federally at least here on the east coast
There seems to be a plethora of "gigantic" creatures being hunted, crocs, turtles, etc. lately and killed in the name of "sport". This seems a pathetic and twisted attempt by some males to display their manhood or their masculinity. Imagine what that wildlife had to sustain and what hardships they survived to have lived to become "record breaking". I find the urge to hurt such magnificent creatures a sorry excuse for bravado. But we live in a culture which somehow trains men that such is acceptable even rewarded behavior. Take a picture as Dr. Noo observes. Killing for "fun" is downright deranged. The dock crew should man up and report this illegal act, the boat number, the men's names. That's brave.
that shark is a short finned mako .you can tell by the rounded off tips of the pectoral fins . federally protected here on the east coast
Those drunken bums are having its teeth extracted I'm sure. They will put it up on the wall of their soon to be foreclosed upon house so they can drunkenly lie about how they almost died when they killed the shark.
Lumis, that is, at best, an uneducated remark. That really reeks of your superiority. Does hunting/gathering mean a trip to Whole Foods? I kill for sustinence. Deer and Elk are yummy.
"We're gonna need a bigger scale"
Good one!
So, they hooked something rare and wonderful and killed it so that they could brag on it. With all the information out there about the decline in shark populations and the danger it poses to the health of our seas, you'd THINK people wouldn't be so selfish.
If yall have a shortage of sharks on the west coast, yall can have some of ours. We have plenty in the GOM. Last time I went fishing that's just about all we caught & no I don't kill them. You do have to get them back in the water quick or they will die.
Thanks for not killing them stc. I'm glad you've got plenty - don't tell the Taiwanese though.
What's the big deal ? If they can make 300 to 500 meals out of this one big shark , so be it . There are almost seven billion people on this earth who have to be feed .
Think about what this big shark was feeding on , could have been better served feeding smaller fish . Fish that could be part of our food chain .
The ocean ecosystem does not function as a conveyer belt to the human plate. Shark populations are important components of the community--removing them does not ensure larger populations of food fish for humans by any means. What do you want to bet that 80% of this shark goes to waste or fertilizer? Seen anyone advertise a shark dinner for 500 homeless? Doubtful.
Stupid to kill it, guess they needed to the boost to their itty bitty egos.
Mygirl1
I just can't help but ask . You've got a picture of a big bull attached to your name . Do you just like pictures of bulls ? Or do you raise them for the meat , to feed yourself and others ? Why are you and so many others belittling these fishermen ? They might not be able to raise a big bull in their back yard . So they fish , to feed their family . They just caught one big shark and it made the news . What feeds their egos , will be feeding their family .
How many pounds will that big bull weigh when you kill it ?
Belittle me if you must . I don't care .
Domestic cattle raised for food are not quite the same as rare, wild, trophy animals. Surely you realize this Ron.
I'll take a swing. First it is a wild animal that is threatened, not a domesticated food animal. Second, they aren't going to feed it to their familites. The article states they donate it to food banks. While this may be beneficial to some needy people, they would benefit more from a sustainable food source. Third, sharks aren't good food fish, they reproduce slowly and are higher in the food web thereby increasing accumulation of mercury which I hope you know isn't very healthy to ingest. Fourth, who are you to decide what animals can compete for food on this already overcrowded human planet? How are you to judge that this noble creature should just be some object of sport? Are you lord of the ocean? Fifth, yes there is 7 billion people on this planet and nothing seems to be able to reduce that number from going higher except for famine, war and disease excepting rational people who take some concern in preserving this place so our grandchildren have something better.
Tell me how many 900 lb sharks are out there to feed your food chain Ron? Tell me how many tiny fish lives were spared? Or don't you care? You just like to put other people down.
W tell -
Swing ang miss!
First, the article states that the mako is considered "vulnerable." Second, they have this to provide - not a sustainable fooodsource, Third, the article indicates that makos are good eating - grant your concern for mercury. Fourth, who are you to decide not? Fifth, there "are" 7 billion on the planet. Do you just like to put other people down? Sounds like.
Ron: The animal in question is a Texas longhorn, a steer and a pet named Hilton. Not destined for dinner, rescued from the fate of being dinner. Texas longhorns at one time were endangered, it took some ranchers and other folks with a love of the breed to bring them back from the brink. Your fishermen were dragging in a shark that is listed as 'vulnerable' meaning the species is in trouble from overfishing. You have a problem with protecting species that are pushed to extinction?
There are a few species of commentators that should be hunted as sport, bring on the Running Man!
they must be fisherman, cus that does NOT look like a 900 pound fish. the guy standing aside it looks to be....what, about 220 and that shark is only as big as two of him wich puts it at 440, lets round up a couple hundred to to 640 just to give them the benifit of the dought. still no ware near 900....just saying....
Fix it man, the shark's weight broke a new 750 lb digital scale. Your argument is invalid.
fix it man, the shark is almost nothing but pure muscle, and a denser muscle than humans at that. And the guy to the left of the shark in the black tshirt is probably about 180, 190 max. He's smaller than me and I weigh 220. I'd estimate the shark is about 11ft, and could easily be over 800, close to 900.
Take a look at http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/900-Pound-Shark-Brought-in-to-Marina-del-Rey-Landing-161293855.html.
The shortfin maco shark is a large mackerel shark. How long did it take this incredible creature from the sea to grow to this size? They can live more than 30 years! Generally this species of shark will not attack humans and only if they are mistaken for wounded prey. Greenpeace says they have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries. Why kill it?
Now it is fodder for a narrative around the barroom or pool table, a huge tooth to hang on a key chain or necklace, and a tale to tell the grand kids (as if that should make them proud of grandpa). Instead a permanent visual record could have been kept for all to see, and this wonderful example of life should have been released. How sad. What a waste.
I grew up in Florida and fished all the time including throughout the Bahamas.
Never would have killed such a magnificent fish. These guys aren't true fisherman.
This fish should have been photographed and then released. What a shame.
Well, that certainly narrows it down a lot.....
Today's headline:
Fishermen reel in 900-pound shark.
Story as it will be told from now on:
Fishermen reel in 900-pound shark...but had a 1,200-pound shark up to the boat, then it broke the line.
Disgusting and wasteful. Why kill the shark, other than to show you have bigger and deadlier weapons?! If you really want the thrill of the hunt, jump into the water and go hand-to-teeth with a shark. I did not realize killing sharks for sport was even legal. Horrid. Sharks are an incredibly important part of the ocean's ecosystem. As for it being "food," that sounds shady.
And then they take him back to his home on Wall Street
Douge-384925
I like you comment #25 .
The Wall Street sharks feeds on our money .
Who makes us the kings of the world ? this is just how the tiger population went down, people hunted them down for their ego, for sport and for medicine (the benefits are still not proven). we do not have any right to kill these animals, whatever goes round comes around. our children will reap what we sowed ! that is karma