Fisherman Captures Record-Breaking Seven-Foot 'Monster' Shark Off The Coast Of Devon
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A fisherman is celebrating after capturing a record-breaking 'monster' shark off the coast of Devon. Have a look at this whopper for yourself:
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Simon Davidson, from Northamptonshire, wrestled with the 550lbs porbeagle shark for an hour before he was able to reel it in.
The 39-year-old and five others had to hold the giant sea creature down before they then threw it back into the water seven miles out.
The catch beat the previous record of 507lbs.
Speaking about the mammoth catch, Mr Davidson, who was a fresh-water angler before moving to big game fishing, said it was utterly 'terrifying' to think that sharks this size are creeping through the waters off the coast of the UK.
The plumber said: "My bait got taken and I didn't think it was a big fish because it hadn't started to fight yet.
"Then I reeled it into the side of the boat and it was a real monster.
"Suddenly it took off through the water and pulled around 600 metres of my line and it was a brutal battle to pull it back in.
"It was an hour of agony. You get to the point where your legs and arms are shaking and you just think your body is going to give up.
"When you saw it in the water, you'd think it was a Great White. It's terrifying to think that sharks as huge as that are prowling our waters."
After taking its measurement, Simon unhooked the shark and let it back into the sea.
The official record for the biggest porbeagle shark caught in the UK stands at 507lbs. It was caught in 1993 by Scots fisherman Chris Bennett off the Orkney Isles.
Potential record fish must be weighed on land for them to be considered an official record by the British Records Fish Committee, meaning they have to be killed.
Most anglers are unwilling to do that, so they measure the shark and estimate its weight.
Along with blue sharks and thresher sharks, porbeagles - Lamna nasus in Latin - are native to UK waters.
They are large powerful sharks but are not considered harmful to humans as they rarely come towards the shore.
But if you think this is scary, you've seen nothing.
Earlier this year, a clip shared on TikTok showed a gigantic shark attracting heaps of attention from folks online, with some even suggesting it looks like a megalodon.
Of course, it wasn't megalodon as they went extinct millions of years ago, but that doesn't stop people having their own take on the matter.
It was most likely a basking shark, but it was still bloody massive.
Be careful in the waters, lads.
