Disturbing photos emerge of a man illegally catching a great white shark off the coast of South Africa
A marine research group has spoken out after a man was caught catching a great white shark and posing for photos with his catch.
Oceans Research said it received a call on Friday 14 October saying that a man had been spotted hauling a great white shark onto some rocks in Mossel Bay on the Southern Cape of South Africa.
In South Africa the great white shark is a protected species and if one is accidentally hooked then it must be released immediately.
On hearing of the haul, a scientist from Oceans Research, Ryan Johnson, went and intervened and released the shark back into the water.
Oceans Research says it has no way of knowing whether the shark survived the ordeal and that over the past four years it has routinely identified fishermen targeting and catching white sharks in Mossel Bay.
Oceans Research said, “According to the Mossel Bay community, people like this fisherman bring shame to the recreational angling sport as they act in a non-professional manner, and isolate themselves from the majority of the angling community, which recognises the importance of these apex predators in the marine ecosystem.”
Subscribe
to the print issue of MBM Subscribe to the digital version of MBM
