A HUGE 900lb tiger shark has been reeled in by a group of Sydney fishermen after a 45-minute grapple with the ferocious beast.
Captain Paul Barning and the crew of the Dark Horse caught the deadly shark off the coast of Sydney, then brought it to shore to be weighed at Port Hacking in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.
Incredible images of the enormous catch provided to the Daily Mail show one of the fishermen holding onto the shark’s fin to keep it secure, as it hangs off the end of the boat.
The sharks can grow up to 7.62 metres long and sometimes weigh more than 800kgs.
They were known to move down Australia’s east coast during summer, following food as it moved with the current.
The tiger shark is known for it’s often-vicious nature; they are second only to Great White sharks in attacking people.
The most recent deadly encounter involving one of the sharks occurred in November, in Western Australia.
Bodyboarder Charles Cernobori, 59, was killed at Cable Bay after he was attacked by a 12ft predator.
The dad-of-three had been bodyboarding some 30 metres off the iconic tourist beach when he was fatally attacked.
Following the attack, cops shot the suspected tiger shark 25 times, but the animal did not appear to be injured and authorities are still hunting for the beast.
Cernobori’s death came just six weeks after another fatal shark attack off the WA coast when surfer Andrew Sharps disappeared on October 9.
Authorities believed he was taken by a shark after widespread reports of a sighting at Wylie Beach in Esperance.
Despite a three-day search, his body was never found however is surfboard and parts of his wetsuit were later recovered.
Australia recorded its highest figures for fatal attacks in 2020, for almost 100 years.
Eight men – aged between 17 and 60 – have all been killed by sharks while in the water off the coast of Australia last year.
Dr Simon Allen, Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia’s School of Biological Sciences, linked the increase in attacks to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: “People in Western Australia that would normally be holidaying in Bali or elsewhere are now holidaying around Western Australia.
“Regional tourism has exploded this year and there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of recreational fishing and other uses of coastal waters.”
While game fishers in New South Wales are reportedly having one of their best seasons in 30 years, many are cautious of showing off their big catches online, due to a growing criticism of the sport.
Tiger sharks are not classified as being endangered, but are listed by Australian conservation bodies as being near-threatened.
Due to the big fish’s status, recreational fishers in NSW were only allowed to have one tiger shark in their daily catch.
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