http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...t-Ireland--lands-ethical-throwback-storm.html
A pensioner has landed the largest fish ever caught by rod and line in waters off the British Isles, returning from his fishing trip with a 1,056lb shark.
Joe Waldis usually catches a 3ft pollock for dinner, so got something of a shock when he started to reel in the 12ft 9in long bluntnose six-gill shark.
As Mr Waldis, a 70-year-old pensioner, proudly posed for pictures next to his catch, he described his 35-minute battle to haul the shark in as 'the fight of my life'.
Fork-lift fish: Joe Waldis brought the record-breaking shark back to shore for a weigh-in, which has prompted criticism from other anglers
'I didnt know what I was dealing with until the shark came to the surface,' he said. 'It is like getting all your numbers in the Lotto to get a fish like this.
'It looked like a monster when I first saw it.'
The size of the fish meant Mr Waldis was unable to haul it aboard in seas off the coast of South-West Ireland.
Instead, it was towed down the Shannon Estuary and then transported by a forklift truck to a local quarry where it was weighed.
The process of killing it and then hauling it ashore to be weighed is deemed necessary to verify the record.
But Mr Waldis' decision has sparked condemnation from some in the fishing community who feel it should have been returned to the sea alive.
What a whopper: The tourist is dwarfed by his enormous catch
Richard Peirce, chairman of the Shark Trust, said: 'It is regrettable that such a magnificent fish had to be taken to shore to be weighed to verify a record, but in these situations it is the angler's decision.
'This shark was a mature specimen and likely to have been a female. It's wonderful news to hear of the existence of large breeding animals, but from a conservation point of view, it was a shame the shark was not released alive.'
The catch smashes the record for the previous rod-caught fish - a 968lb bluefin tuna caught in 2001, also found off the coast of Ireland.
It is more than double the weight of the heaviest rod-caught fish in the UK - a porbeagle shark weighing 507lb caught off Orkney in 1993.
The heaviest fish caught in freshwater Britain is a sturgeon weighing 388lb which was reeled in from the River Towy in South Wales in 1993.
Mr Waldis, a Swiss tourist, caught the bluntnose six-gill shark on an 80lb breaking-strain line on Tuesday afternoon.
He used mackerel bait on a line hanging 200ft beneath the surface of sea. Despite the use of such a ploy, anglers expressed astonishment at the catch because the fish usually swim at 300ft and have been recorded more than 6,000ft down.
Luke Aston, owner of the Clare Dragoon, the charter boat from which the fish was caught, said: 'Its unbelievable. We knew that Joe had hooked on to something big and we strapped him in and the fight was on.
'The fish is also the biggest six-gill shark ever caught on an 80lb line in Europe, which is the line we used.'
Mr Aston said that his boat caught a similarly sized six-gill shark in the same area last year, but it was put back alive into the ocean without being weighed.
Dr Simon Berrow, of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, said: 'To be able to land a shark that size with a rod and line is amazing. It goes to show how little we know of what is out there.'
The biggest fish caught on a rod and line anywhere in the world is believed to have been a 3,427lbs great white shark, caught in 1986 off Montauk, New York, by Frank Mundus.
He is the fisherman thought to have been the model for the shark hunter Quint in the novel and Stephen Spielberg movie Jaws.
A pensioner has landed the largest fish ever caught by rod and line in waters off the British Isles, returning from his fishing trip with a 1,056lb shark.
Joe Waldis usually catches a 3ft pollock for dinner, so got something of a shock when he started to reel in the 12ft 9in long bluntnose six-gill shark.
As Mr Waldis, a 70-year-old pensioner, proudly posed for pictures next to his catch, he described his 35-minute battle to haul the shark in as 'the fight of my life'.
'I didnt know what I was dealing with until the shark came to the surface,' he said. 'It is like getting all your numbers in the Lotto to get a fish like this.
'It looked like a monster when I first saw it.'
The size of the fish meant Mr Waldis was unable to haul it aboard in seas off the coast of South-West Ireland.
Instead, it was towed down the Shannon Estuary and then transported by a forklift truck to a local quarry where it was weighed.
The process of killing it and then hauling it ashore to be weighed is deemed necessary to verify the record.
But Mr Waldis' decision has sparked condemnation from some in the fishing community who feel it should have been returned to the sea alive.
Richard Peirce, chairman of the Shark Trust, said: 'It is regrettable that such a magnificent fish had to be taken to shore to be weighed to verify a record, but in these situations it is the angler's decision.
'This shark was a mature specimen and likely to have been a female. It's wonderful news to hear of the existence of large breeding animals, but from a conservation point of view, it was a shame the shark was not released alive.'
The catch smashes the record for the previous rod-caught fish - a 968lb bluefin tuna caught in 2001, also found off the coast of Ireland.
It is more than double the weight of the heaviest rod-caught fish in the UK - a porbeagle shark weighing 507lb caught off Orkney in 1993.
The heaviest fish caught in freshwater Britain is a sturgeon weighing 388lb which was reeled in from the River Towy in South Wales in 1993.
Mr Waldis, a Swiss tourist, caught the bluntnose six-gill shark on an 80lb breaking-strain line on Tuesday afternoon.
He used mackerel bait on a line hanging 200ft beneath the surface of sea. Despite the use of such a ploy, anglers expressed astonishment at the catch because the fish usually swim at 300ft and have been recorded more than 6,000ft down.
Luke Aston, owner of the Clare Dragoon, the charter boat from which the fish was caught, said: 'Its unbelievable. We knew that Joe had hooked on to something big and we strapped him in and the fight was on.
'The fish is also the biggest six-gill shark ever caught on an 80lb line in Europe, which is the line we used.'
Mr Aston said that his boat caught a similarly sized six-gill shark in the same area last year, but it was put back alive into the ocean without being weighed.
Dr Simon Berrow, of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, said: 'To be able to land a shark that size with a rod and line is amazing. It goes to show how little we know of what is out there.'
The biggest fish caught on a rod and line anywhere in the world is believed to have been a 3,427lbs great white shark, caught in 1986 off Montauk, New York, by Frank Mundus.
He is the fisherman thought to have been the model for the shark hunter Quint in the novel and Stephen Spielberg movie Jaws.
