Big catch off the Isle of Wight

I always enjoy a good piece about animals being caught in unexpected places, or being bigger than expected.

August, 2007: a 14-foot tresher shark caught off the Isle of Wight (U.K.). It took Danny Vokins and several men over two hours to reel it in, and it weighed an estimated 500 pounds. The shark was tagged and released, and was therefore not weighed and not eligible for the record books. Kudos. I'd rather have a living creature than a dead number.

The Hampshire Chronicle adds that "the shark's movements are now being tracked by the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) in the US." The NMFS has a good page of info about the thresher shark here, though I admit I was surprised to see "Nutrition Facts" get top billing!

Link: The Daily Echo (Aug. 6, 2007) with photo and comments

Link: Hampshire Chronicle (Aug. 7, 2007)

Link: Podcast interview (Aug. 13, 2007)

Link: Danny's photography site (Why not?)