Mako Shark Caught By Fishermen Weighs In At 805-Pounds [Video]

Three Florida fishermen caught a gigantic 805-pound mako shark on Tuesday while fishing off the Gulf Coast, and some reports claim that it could be the biggest one ever caught.

Joey Polk, along with his cousins Earnie Polk and Kenny Peterson, were out fishing off the shore of the Gulf Coast when they suddenly felt that something had snagged a line. As expected with an 800-pound, 11-foot-long sea creature, a fight ensued.

“Joey fought it for over an hour,” said Earnie Polk, according to The Telegraph. “It jumped out of the water twice and then Kenny Peterson tail-roped it.”

Earnie says that they usually release what they catch back into the water, but when they pulled the giant shark ashore, they were unable to revive it.

“Ninety-eight per cent of our catches gets tagged with a National Marine Fisheries tag and released,” said Earnie Polk. “We have close to 500 tagged sharks swimming now. We usually don’t publicise our catches. We don’t want humanity to destroy the natural resources in our local waters.”

When the three men realized the shark couldn’t be tagged and released, they decided to cook it.

“It tasted really good,” said Joey Polk. “It does not have a gamey or a fishy taste.”

“Our fathers and grandfather were also land-based shark fishermen,” Joey said to KXAN about his experience with fishing. “I was going with my dad when I was as young as four. I have been sharking steady since I was 16 and Joey has been going with me since his mom would let him and has been my most loyal partner since he was 15.”

Joey also adds that if it were up to him, nobody would know about their discovery because, “We just want to save our sport. The more people that know about it, the more people that crowd our beach — with hundreds of people swimming. That’s not what we want.”

According to reports, the giant mako shark may be one of the largest ever caught in history, beating out one from 2009 that set a record at 730 pounds. The International Land-Based Shark Fishing Association is currently judging to see if this discovery did indeed break the previous world record.

Just last year, a scientist with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration decided to dissect the stomachs of more than 200 mako sharks to see what their diet looked like. This was done in an effort to further study the food chain and take a look at the importance of sharks in general.