Fisherman Catches Great White Shark And Releases It Back Into Sea

A fisherman in the States managed to hook himself quite the catch at the weekend - a 6ft Great White shark, no less.

Imagine just how surprised you'd be if you were out fishing, minding your own business and maybe hoping to come across a couple of mackerel for your tea, when a Great White slumps onto the deck of your boat.

Well, that's the unexpected visitor that fisherman Michael Lorello had the other day, when he was out in Misquamicut Bay in Westerly, Rhode Island.

He was just three quarters of a mile off the bay, which WFSB reports is a popular beach in the area.

Posting video footage and photos of the surprising haul to Facebook, Michael wrote: "6 ft. Great white shark caught 3/4 of a mile of misquamicut beach, today 729/2018, 12.30pm."

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In a later Facebook comment, he also said he's never caught a Great White shark near Misquamicut before.

WFSB reports that, according to Great White Shark expert Lisa Natanson, the sharks have been monitored for 200 years in the are between Massachusetts and New Jersey during summer - and that they are apparently in the area because of warmer water.

Thankfully, it turns out they're mostly hunting for seals to eat, but though that doesn't stop us being just a little bit nervy.

via GIPHY

Mind you, while Michael's catch was pretty impressive, it's got nothing on 'Deep Blue', the huge shark filmed in Mexico that's thought to measure a whopping 20ft in length.

Deep Blue is believed to be the biggest Great White ever filmed, having been videoed almost three years ago by shark conservationist Mauricio Hoyos Padilla and recently broadcast as part of Nat Geo Wild's 'Shark Week' programming.

Deep Blue was pregnant at the time, but Gavin Naylor of the Florida Programme for Shark Research reckons that she was also a particularly large creature because she was an older gal.

Naylor told Fox News: "It's an older animal and when you look at the distribution of any animal, it's the larger animals that are older."

Great Whites can live for up to 70 years, but there is some variation within that depending on whether they are male or female sharks. Deep Blue is thought to be around 50 - which stands up to Naylor's age theory.

Topics: Great White Shark, News, US News, Animals, shark

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman