A Shark Tale

They caught a 13-14 foot Thresher Shark. Sharks are a common catch here in the North Carolina waters but this one was jumbo sized! Named for their exceptionally long, thresher-like tail (which can be as long as the total body length), thresher sharks are active predators; the tail is used as a weapon to stun prey. The thresher shark has a short head and a cone-shaped nose. The mouth is generally small, and the teeth range in size from small to large.

Thresher sharks are found in temperate waters around the world. Common thresher sharks are a highly migratory species, often traveling over entire ocean basins. They’re most common near land and are often found in areas rich with plankton, where their prey is also abundant.

Seth Huppert, Logan Jenkins and Bill Evans were working their nets when they happened upon this giant. Seth tells me that he gave up the fight pretty quickly. Sharks caught here are usually sent up north to the markets there. Only a few varieties of sharks are able to be kept while most are released back into the ocean.

When I asked Seth what was the neatest catch he had seen so far, he said this one has to be it.