Fisherman Catches Half-Ton Mako Shark

DESTIN, Florida (AP) -- A crew hooked a 1,063-pound (482-kilogram) mako shark in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday. The shark was half the size of their 23-foot (7-meter) boat. The fishermen harpooned the shark with flying gaffs, a large hook attached to rope used to pull in a fisherman's catch. The gaffs were tied the boat, which was tilting and close to taking on water.

"If (the shark) hadn't been as tired as she was, this boat would be sitting on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico,'' said Lindsey Stanley, the captain.

After the shark died, it took eight men to pull it aboard a nearby charter boat.

"I'm investigating it as a world record,'' said Jim Roberson, who represents the Florida Panhandle for the International Game Fish Association.

The registered weight makes the catch eligible for the world record in the 30-pound line class for a short-fin mako. The class record is a 997-pound, 11-ounce shark caught in Sydney, Australia, in 1995.'

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