Possible World-Record Shark Caught Off SoCal

[BiffSplitkins]

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KTLA) — A group of fishermen may have broken a world record with a huge shark caught off the coast of Huntington Beach.

The fishermen pose with their possible world-record catch.

A fisherman named Jason Johnston, from Mesquite, Texas, chartered a boat out of Huntington Beach on Monday.

His group hooked a massive shortfin mako shark about 15 miles offshore.

The shark was 11 feet long, 8 feet in girth and more than 1,300 pounds, according to the fishermen’s estimates.

It took more than two hours and a quarter-mile of line to reel in the shark, according to Johnston.

“It’s unreal. This thing is definitely a killing machine,” Johnston said. “Any wrong step and I could have went out of the boat and to the bottom of the ocean,” he said.

The shark was being taken to a weigh yard in Gardena to be certified by a weigh master.

It was expected to be donated to a research organization for study.

Read more: http://ktla.com/2013/06/04/monster-shark-caught-off-the-coast-of-socal/#ixzz2VLHgV73K

[Lilly]

Wow, they caught 'Jaws'!

[Simbi Laveau]

They showed the inside of his throat . There was so much metal in there,I almost cried.

Poor thing suffered if you ask me.

A one of a kind,and they have to kill it. I hate people .

[woopypooky]

the longest shark fin, yummy

[Glenville86]

Yeah - I can see killing something if it is threatening you and there is no other option or if you are going to eat it.

[Rafterman]

They showed the inside of his throat . There was so much metal in there,I almost cried.

Poor thing suffered if you ask me.

A one of a kind,and they have to kill it. I hate people .

You have no way of knowing that. Frankly, you have no way of knowing if fish even feel pain in the same way humans do.

That "metal" as you call it looks like cabling they used to secure it to the side of the boat after catching it or used to hoist it out of the water.

They may have had no intention of killing the shark, but sometimes things happen.

[Dark_Grey]

You have no way of knowing that. Frankly, you have no way of knowing if fish even feel pain in the same way humans do.

That "metal" as you call it looks like cabling they used to secure it to the side of the boat after catching it or used to hoist it out of the water.

They may have had no intention of killing the shark, but sometimes things happen.

Good point. It's all about relative perception. For all we know, sharks being the evolutionary epitome of a killer, may have very dulled pain receptors. What feels like a hard punch to a human may only feel like a bump to them. *shrugs*

[Fedex]

Dear god. I hate it when people cry about these kinda things. Pain this pain that cruelty this waaaaa that. Thats a fresh catch. People hunt and fish all over the world and have since the dawn of time. Big deal. Congrats to them for an awesome catch. You want something to cry about look at where fast food gets THEIR meat. Or half the food you ingest that isnt free range. Go eat some grass. (i warn you it probably feels pain too however)

[Xanthurion2]

Sharks are awesome. It's too bad, they're dangerous and edible.

[Simbi Laveau]

Dear god. I hate it when people cry about these kinda things. Pain this pain that cruelty this waaaaa that. Thats a fresh catch. People hunt and fish all over the world and have since the dawn of time. Big deal. Congrats to them for an awesome catch. You want something to cry about look at where fast food gets THEIR meat. Or half the food you ingest that isnt free range. Go eat some grass. (i warn you it probably feels pain too however)

You have no idea what kind and where I buy my food ,and have for years.

The MEN as its only MEN who do this kind of fishing ,all seem to be compensating for some small pathetic ,and I do mean smmmaaallll ,thing ,or so it seems .

The news said it took them hours to reel him in . Do they have a nervous system ?

So they have nerves . Nerves make us move,and feel pain . Do they move ?

It's been proven fish feel pain .People keep saying they don't to make themselves look less barbaric the way they treat them .

There were no reports of a rash of mako attacks ,where this fish had to be stopped .

Man is descimating the oceans ,and all anyone does is oww and ahh when some pea brain spends hours torturing some poor animal to death for a photo op and he won't need Viagra tonight .

.

[spud the mackem]

I cant understand people shouting about killing a shark.....in order to grow that size how many seals /turtles and other unfortunate sea creatures has the shark killed.

[Gumball]

What a waste.

[psyche101]

You have no idea what kind and where I buy my food ,and have for years.

The MEN as its only MEN who do this kind of fishing ,all seem to be compensating for some small pathetic ,and I do mean smmmaaallll ,thing ,or so it seems .

Only men? Maybe I do have gay tendencies after all, these guys look a bit of alright to me.

Ya gotta admit, the guy with the Trevally looks dam fine in a bikini.

The news said it took them hours to reel him in . Do they have a nervous system ?

So they have nerves . Nerves make us move,and feel pain . Do they move ?

It's been proven fish feel pain .People keep saying they don't to make themselves look less barbaric the way they treat them .

Do Sharks Feel Pain?

Of all the stirring tales of maritime lore, few are as spectacular and chilling as the shark feeding frenzy. During a full-blown frenzy, sharks are reputedly driven 'mad' by an insatiable blood lust. According to whalers' wide-eyed but seemingly earnest accounts, in the throes of violent gluttony, sharks feeding at a whale carcass are undeterred from their bloody feast by even the most serious of injuries - such as being savagely stabbed and sliced by flensing knives (used by whalers to strip blubber from whale carcasses) or bitten repeatedly by other sharks. There are even reports of sharks that have been split in two by whalemen or disemboweled by other sharks continuing to feed, apparently ignoring their mortal wounds as though insensate to them. From vivid stories such as these, it came to be believed that sharks do not feel pain.

A precise neurological understanding of pain remains elusive. We do know that, in vertebrates, sensory neurons (nerve cells) penetrate most tissues and are responsible for relaying information to the central nervous system from the rest of the body. In mammals, two morphologically distinct populations of sensory nerve cells have been identified: relatively thick neurons having axons sheathed with myelin (a fatty, electrically insulating layer) and thinner neurons without. These thinner, unmyelinated neurons respond only to stimuli sufficiently intense to cause tissue damage and are termed nociceptors. In humans, tissue damage activates nociceptors, evoking a sensation of pain. Conversely, people who are born insensitive to pain virtually lack such nociceptors. Therefore, nociceptors are essential to the ability to perceive pain.

A fascinating 1993 paper by Australian neurophysiologists Peter Snow, Mark Plenderleith, and Layne Wright examined the sensory neurons of three species of elasmobranchs. Electron micrographs (images from an electron microscope) were used to count the number of myelinated and unmyelinated neurons in a key portion (the dorsal root ganglia) of the nervous systems of the Giant Shovelnose Ray (Rhinobatos typus), the Honeycomb Whip-tail Ray (Himantura uarnak), and the Blackfin Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus). Snow and his co-workers found that less than 1 percent of the neurons of both ray species were unmyelinated, while from 14 to 38 percent of the shark neurons were unmyelinated. In humans, by comparison, about 50 percent of neurons are unmyelinated.

Snow and his co-workers concluded that elasmobranchs lack the neuronal machinery absolutely essential for the perception of pain. The researchers went on to speculate that, for sharks and rays, the ability to perceive pain might have little relevance to survival. It is difficult to imagine how this could be. We humans rely on the sensation of pain to indicate that our bodies are not functioning properly, so that we might take action to limit the damage caused by injuries. It is remarkable that sharks, which have proven to be extremely sensitive to many other stimuli, would be insensate to sensory cues that could warn of injuries that could prove life-threatening in a dangerous world.

Yet, according to the available neurophysiological and behavioral evidence, sharks do not seem to feel pain. If sharks do feel pain, then their mechanism and experience of this noxious sensation must be very different from our own.

LINK - Elasmo Research

There were no reports of a rash of mako attacks ,where this fish had to be stopped .

As far as I know they were just fishing in general, not hunting sharks.

Man is descimating the oceans ,and all anyone does is oww and ahh when some pea brain spends hours torturing some poor animal to death for a photo op and he won't need Viagra tonight .

.

Man has been fishing since we shared the place with Neanderthals. Catching a Mako is not wiping out half the Oceans.

Edited June 6, 2013 by psyche101

[psyche101]

What a waste.

I don't know, donating it to research might tell us a great deal.

[Simbi Laveau]

Of all those girls,mmmaayybbe one did the actual fishing .

Their posed photos ,or do you really thing girls with fake boobs and perfect hair ,look like that after wrestling a fish in ?

Not even in the alternate universe.

Chances are good,the guy with the small wee wee also bought a BIG BOAT,to make him feel more adequate ,and the girls hang out with him because he has ,oh yeah,he has an expensive boat .

Sharks are being fished to extinction ,almost all species .

http://www.ehow.com/...mako-shark.html

[psyche101]

Of all those girls,mmmaayybbe one did the actual fishing .

How do you know that? I not only know many ladies who are of comparable aesthetics who love fishing, but some yummy mummies like to get into it with the family too.

Their posed photos ,or do you really thing girls with fake boobs and perfect hair ,look like that after wrestling a fish in ?

Water looks pretty calm to me in every photo, calm seas and mild conditions are no match for a straightening wand and hair product from what I have seen. I do not think fake boobs have anything to do with fishing, or the state of ones hair, so they are just a plus the way I see it. Boobs don't hinder fishing do they?

Hrmmzz, maybe the last two are fake, but I do not see indications of that in the others.

They fish with rods you know, they do not dive in on the back of the sharks and wrestle them into the boat. Now that I am thinking about it...........

Not even in the alternate universe.

If you think so, visit the Gold Coast sometime. In any case, they look awesome, and that wins every time.

Chances are good,the guy with the small wee wee also bought a BIG BOAT,to make him feel more adequate ,and the girls hang out with him because he has ,oh yeah,he has an expensive boat .

How do you know a guy owns the boat(s) from a picture?

Sharks are being fished to extinction ,almost all species .

http://www.ehow.com/...mako-shark.html

It might be a good idea to ger Governments involved properly. The Australian Government make a big hoo ha about whale when the Sea Shepherd is on telly, but they have Dolphins in parks for entertainment across the county, yet New Zealand has outlawed this for some time. We are backwards with regards to cetacean management, but make a big political deal. I think people need to really care at the top, not the recreational weekender. I think Julia Gillard does more harm in one day to out marine environments than those lovely ladies could do in a lifetime. Or even a bloke with a little wee wee and a big boat.

It's not an insult to have a little wee wee, it here for our pleasure, not yours, you lot keep getting that bit mixed up.

Edited June 7, 2013 by psyche101

[spud the mackem]

It would have made the survivors of the U.S.S.Lexington very happy.

I've been in the water with a 13 ft Tiger.

Total fear.

I guess I just dont like sharks.

[Myles]

Of all those girls,mmmaayybbe one did the actual fishing .

Their posed photos ,or do you really thing girls with fake boobs and perfect hair ,look like that after wrestling a fish in ?

Not even in the alternate universe.

Chances are good,the guy with the small wee wee also bought a BIG BOAT,to make him feel more adequate ,and the girls hang out with him because he has ,oh yeah,he has an expensive boat .

Sharks are being fished to extinction ,almost all species .

http://www.ehow.com/...mako-shark.html

Jealous much?

[Rafterman]

You have no idea what kind and where I buy my food ,and have for years.

The MEN as its only MEN who do this kind of fishing ,all seem to be compensating for some small pathetic ,and I do mean smmmaaallll ,thing ,or so it seems .

The news said it took them hours to reel him in . Do they have a nervous system ?

So they have nerves . Nerves make us move,and feel pain . Do they move ?

It's been proven fish feel pain .People keep saying they don't to make themselves look less barbaric the way they treat them .

There were no reports of a rash of mako attacks ,where this fish had to be stopped .

Man is descimating the oceans ,and all anyone does is oww and ahh when some pea brain spends hours torturing some poor animal to death for a photo op and he won't need Viagra tonight .

.

No it hasn't.

http://news.national...s-fish-science/

And frankly, the mere fact that it took them hours to reel in this shark tells me that it doesn't feel pain. If someone hooked you in the mouth and gums, would you be able to resist with all of your might for hours on end? Probably not. And you know why - because you feel pain. And anecdotally, I've been fishing for more than 30 years and I'm convinced by the reactions I've witnessed that fish do not feel pain. Heck, a good deal of the time a fish doesn't even know it's hooked and only reacts to the angler when they are stopped from going where they want to go.

As was stated above, it's also important to point out that these guys weren't actively targeting sharks. They were simply fishing and may have had full intention to release the shark, but sometimes you simply can't depending on how they are hooked, etc. And perhaps their efforts to donate this shark to research will end up saving thousands of other sharks and improve our fisheries worldwide. I'm assuming you don't have a problem with that?

As to your other point, I love to pose in pictures just like this. And contrary to your opinion, I have no problems in the performance area and am above average in the other area you mention as well. I'd be happy to give you my wife's email if you'd like to inquire with her directly.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Rafterman

[Bavarian Raven]

Bit shark but not exactly a reccord breaker

[Caity_01]

This amazing predetor was slaughtered by some dimwits that wanted their 5 minutes of fame and their names in the record books! The fact that a mako shark of this size and weight hasnt been seen or caught before makes it extremely special and rare. Some people have been commenting on the fact that we as a human species have fished the oceans since the time of neanderthals but they failed to mention that there werent nearly as many neanderthals as there are humans in this day and age and we have decimated the oceans with overfishing and pollution. Many species have been overfished almost to the point of extinction, our rapid population growth and supply and demand on the fisheries industry have done irreparable damage to this delicate ecosystem. We should stop raping the earth of all of its valuable resourses, sharks are a unique predetor and they are being wiped out they are a very important species, they have lived on the earth for millions of years and have helped to shape the oceans food chain and ecosystem. If people are interested they should watch the award winning documentary titled 'Shark Water' It gives an insight in to the decimation of the shark population and provides irrefutable evidence of the damage and destruction that is occuring in our oceans.

[Myles]

This amazing predetor was slaughtered by some dimwits that wanted their 5 minutes of fame and their names in the record books! The fact that a mako shark of this size and weight hasnt been seen or caught before makes it extremely special and rare. Some people have been commenting on the fact that we as a human species have fished the oceans since the time of neanderthals but they failed to mention that there werent nearly as many neanderthals as there are humans in this day and age and we have decimated the oceans with overfishing and pollution. Many species have been overfished almost to the point of extinction, our rapid population growth and supply and demand on the fisheries industry have done irreparable damage to this delicate ecosystem. We should stop raping the earth of all of its valuable resourses, sharks are a unique predetor and they are being wiped out they are a very important species, they have lived on the earth for millions of years and have helped to shape the oceans food chain and ecosystem. If people are interested they should watch the award winning documentary titled 'Shark Water' It gives an insight in to the decimation of the shark population and provides irrefutable evidence of the damage and destruction that is occuring in our oceans.

I see what you are saying, but on the other hand, how many ocean dwellers are saved without this giant in the water?

In a unique way, this was helpful to ocean life.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Myles

[Caity_01]

Myles its all part of the oceans food chain. The majority of people are horrified when they here about a lion being hunted, and people dont say well at least a few antelope or a couple of zebras will be safe now. What im trying to say is predetors are there for a reason to keep natures unique and delicate balance from collapsing.

[Myles]

Myles its all part of the oceans food chain. The majority of people are horrified when they here about a lion being hunted, and people dont say well at least a few antelope or a couple of zebras will be safe now. What im trying to say is predetors are there for a reason to keep natures unique and delicate balance from collapsing.

I understand that. (I'm saying this without thorough knowledge of the current ocean structure) With less seals, whales and large fish, doesn't it stand to reason that there should be lass predators for these animals as well? Using your lion example, what if the antelope were hunted to 10,000 left and the lion population was at 4,000. Wouldn't it be wise to limit the number of lions?

Just playing devil's advocate here, nothing personal.

[CloudSix]

Man it sure is a big one!

But it's not the largest one ever.

The biggest one of the shortfin mako sharks or "blue pointers" was caught back in 2001, near the shorelines of Massachusetts. It weighed around 554 kilograms.

And the biggest shark ever was a great white, caught in 1959 in Australia, weighed around 1200 kilograms

Edited June 7, 2013 by BorisIWantToKnow