SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – A Massachusetts family on a fishing charter Monday morning caught and released a 10-foot great white shark about a mile off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.
Donovan Smith and his father Judd, from Redding, Massachusetts, reeled in the shark during a charter through Fishing Headquarters.
“I got in the chair first and tuckered me out, so my dad had to come in and I finished it out,” Donovan Smith said. “But my arms were super tired and it was a crazy fight. It was probably the craziest moment I’ve ever had.”
The family did not know what they had hooked until they began reeling it in.
“We didn’t know what we had until we were reeling in and it took forever to reel in. It was huge,” Donovan Smith said.
Captain Mate Logan Graf said it was his first encounter with a great white shark.
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“It was absolutely amazing. I’ve been fishing here for seven years and I’ve never caught one before,” Graf said.
Captain Paul Pellucci said he has caught six great white sharks since 2003.
“We know that they’re present off of our coasts, especially in the cooler months of the year,” Pellucci said.
Catherine McDonald, a shark research and conservation program director at the University of Miami, said great whites generally do not like shallow water, so beach goers should not be concerned.
“So the data is showing that white sharks are increasing in numbers off the east coast of the United States and Canada,” McDonald said. “And that’s a great sign for population recovery overall.”
McDonald said the increase is partly due to greater awareness.
“But we’re not necessarily seeing more so much as noticing them more,” McDonald said.
Great white sharks are a protected species, requiring catch and release.
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