21-stone beast shark fights with British fisherman and snaps his rod

A man fishing off the Isle of Wight hooked a miniature megalodon.

Angler Ray Breton filmed himself trying to reel in a 300lbs porbeagle shark as it thrashed in the water. 

It took Breton an hour to get the shark under control, and at one point, the toothy animal snapped his rod in half. Watch Breton's footage below:

Locking his camera onto the shark after it wrapped its jaws around some mackerel bait, Breton could be heard saying: “Look at that guys!”

As he tried to wrangle the animal – which according to Breton was likely around 300lbs – into position next to his 13-feet boat, the shark's eyes could be seen rolling back into its head as it tried to lift itself out of the water. 

Ray, a lorry driver from Gosport, Hants, unhooked the shark and released it safely and afterwards.

He said: "It was epic and feisty. After about an hour I got it alongside the boat. Then my rod snapped so I had no choice but to grab hold of the wire leader line and get it to the boat.

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“It was at least 300lbs. I have caught a few sharks before but this one seemed angrier than usual. I was really pleased but was aching for a while afterwards."

The porbeagle is a relative of the Great White. They are large powerful sharks but are not considered harmful to humans as they rarely come towards the shore.

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.

While Breton’s footage is downright spooky, it’s worth noting that no one has been attacked by a shark in the UK in over 175 years. Oh, until last month, that is. 

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Earlier in August, HM Coastguard reported that a female swimmer, who had been on a snorkelling trip in Penzance harbour in Cornwall, suffered from a suspected shark bite on her leg.

Paramedics rushed to the scene, which unfolded on 28 July, to tend to the woman.

A spokesperson said: "HM Coastguard sent Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team to meet a snorkeler who suffered a suspected shark bite. 

"The coastguard was notified just before 12.30pm on Thursday (July 28). It is believed the swimmer suffered a leg injury. 

"The coastguard team met the casualty at Penzance harbour to assist with passing them into the care of the ambulance service."