January 08, 2012

IRELAND: Biggest shark of last decade


The British media is saying this is the largest fish ever caught on rod and line in the waters of the British Isles. And it was caught by a 70-year old Swiss pensioner. It took Joe Waldis 35 minutes of almighty struggle to bring the 12’ 9” bluntnose six-gill shark to the side of his boat off the coast of County Clare in south-west Ireland, after it took his mackerel bait. This decisively smashes the record for the heaviest rod-caught fish in British or Irish waters, overtaking a 968 lb. bluefin tuna caught in 2001 (also off Ireland), and is more than double the weight of the heaviest rod-caught fish within the UK, a porbeagle shark of 507 lbs. taken off Orkney in 1993.