NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. (WKRG) – Fishermen caught what they believe is a great white shark at the Navarre Beach Pier Tuesday afternoon.
Jeremy Utter was the one who made the big catch.
“Definitely a fish of a lifetime,” he said. “I could fish 50 more years and never get another one. That’s the first one I’ve ever seen. First one I’ve ever touched.”
It’s estimated at 700 pounds and 10 feet long. At first, they were thinking it might be a more common mako shark.
“Everybody out here had their knives and forks ready thinking mako..we’re going to have something to eat tonight,” Earnie Polk said.
Polk is the captain of Team True Blue, which is the group of fishermen that reeled it in. He says they released the shark after tagging it.
“That really tells the scientists..it gives them a new story..they’re like whoa, wait a minute, that fish isn’t supposed to be there, why is it there you know,” Polk said.
Thomas Thielman is known around here as “Shark Thomas.” He works at the Navarre Beach Pier and helped bring it in. It took about five people.
“Honestly, it was just pure adrenaline,” Thielman said. “I was just kind of like I hope we get this big joker to the beach.”
The data on the shark will now be shared with one of NOAA’s research programs.
Shark video by Adrian Key.
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