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Father And Son Catch One Of The Biggest Blue Sharks In UK Waters

Father And Son Catch One Of The Biggest Blue Sharks In UK Waters

The pair were fishing off the coast of Falmouth in Cornwall when they caught the whopping 9ft shark, weighing in at nearly 18 stone

EMS 7

EMS 7

This summer has seen Brits flocking to UK beach resorts in droves in a bid to avoid travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Although this sounds like the safer option, you might think twice after finding out a record-sized blue shark was just discovered in British waters.

A father and son were fishing off the coast of Falmouth in Cornwall when they caught the whopping 9ft shark, weighing in at nearly 18 stone.

BNPS

When the beast took to the mackerel bait, Harry Pardoe, 30, and his dad Mike, 60, struggled for 90 minutes trying to bring their catch to the surface.

Eventually they succeeded and managed to heave it onto the deck of their charter boat where they used their tried and tested method of measuring the shark's length and girth.

They concluded the weight to be 251lbs - 33lbs over the existing blue shark record that has stood since 1959.

Despite their findings, the father-son duo aren't able to claim it as current rules state the creature would have to be brought back to land to be weighed officially for an Angling Trust application.

Instead of following the specifications, which would've resulted in the death of their catch, Harry and Mike did the good thing and returned the beast to water.

BNPS

What's more, on the same trip Mike also secured another huge blue shark, which weighed 180lbs.

While the dad said it was 'disappointing' that they couldn't declare the record-breaking catch, neither he nor his son were ever going to kill the creature.

Mike, from Birmingham, said: "We weren't specifically fishing for sharks. I didn't even know there were sharks of that size in that area so it was amazing to get two huge ones in the same day.

"When it first bit, Harry said straight away it was a big one and it took about an hour-and-a-half to get it on board.

"Once it was on the boat it was a case of measuring it with a tape measure then trying to calculate the weight before putting it back."

BNPS

He added: "The ruling states that to be a record sadly you have to kill the shark and bring it back to be weighed.

"For any fish-loving anglers like ourselves that's always going to be a no-no. I suppose it is slightly disappointing."

For those of you who are worried about the fact that there are two massive blue sharks on the loose in British waters, don't fret - despite their large size, this particular species rarely attacks humans. So yes, it's safe to get back in the water.

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Topics: UK News, Animals, shark