Bull shark weighing more than 500 pounds caught off the coast of Alabama
It would have been a state record in Alabama.
David Stiller's team had caught sharks more than 500 pounds before, but just like last time, this bull shark wouldn't count.
Why? You can't weigh them if samples are taken for research grants. And while works for food production and commercial fishing, they also do research with Mississippi Gulf Coast.
It's the time of year when large, female bull sharks come to the waters around Mobile Bay to lay their pups, Lew Childre said. He fishes with Stiller and recounted the story of the team catching the large bull shark to sister station WVTM.
Normally, Stiller and the team try to fish the smaller sharks that will be better to sell. As they started pulling up the lines miles off the coast of Mobile Bay, Stiller told his friend that they were "getting chewed to pieces," so they knew there was a big shark.
It took 10 minutes of fighting with the shark to pull it in, and another 20 minutes to get it onboard.
"It was a mongo," Childre said. "David is the Steve Irwin of Alabama sharks."
Stiller and the team believe this shark could have been about 550 pounds.
In the photo above, you'll notice part of the shark is missing. That's because the team took samples for research as part of their grant.
The team will be doing NOAA fisheries research on sandbar sharks on Saturday.
