[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] A man was caught on camera grabbing a giant shark with his bare hands on a U.S. beach, drawing widespread attention.
According to The Boston Globe and other U.S. media outlets, fisherman Elliot Sudal, 37, successfully caught a large great white shark with his bare hands at Nova Deer Beach in Massachusetts.
He said it was the first time he had ever caught a great white shark during his 13 years of fishing in Nantucket.
Video shot at the scene showed Sudal grabbing the shark by the tail and pulling it onto the beach, then even climbing onto it on the sand. He later removed the fishing hook from the shark's mouth, while nearby tourists could not hide their shock.
One witness in the video exclaimed, "Wow, this is really hard to believe."
Sudal later held the shark by the tail and returned it to the sea. In an interview with local media, he said, "I removed the hook while the shark was close to the waves and sent it back into the sea about 15 seconds later," adding, "I think that was the most appropriate response I could make in that situation."
He added, "I was not intentionally targeting a great white shark," and explained, "I had no way of knowing what kind of fish would take the bait."
Sudal claimed that the shark was so large it dragged about 270 meters of fishing line in an instant.
He said, "I knew it was something big from the start, but I did not immediately realize exactly what it was." He added, "I briefly saw a fin flip over, and the black-and-white pattern caught my eye. I instinctively knew it was different from the fish I usually catch."
Great white sharks are known as apex predators. They are about 1.2 meters long at birth, and adults can grow to more than 6 meters and weigh over 1,800 kilograms.
Meanwhile, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), great white sharks are classified as a protected species in most U.S. waters, and keeping one after capture is prohibited. If one is accidentally hooked while fishing, it must be released immediately.
Jang Jong-ho
