‘Record breaking’ 11ft killer Great White Shark cousin caught by fisherman in British waters
A FISHERMAN believes he broke the record for catching the largest make shark - a cousin of the Great White - in British waters.
Rob Rennie, 49, found the 11ft beast at the end of his line when it latched onto a piece of mackerel bait.
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The keen angler reckons his catch was roughly 1,200lbs - smashing the current British record of a 500lbs mako shark from 1971.
Rob, a charter boat skipper from Hereford, released the beast back into the sea after he caught it with five pals 35 miles off the coast of west Wales on September 7.
He said: "Makos are dangerous - probably on par with the Great White.
"This one was huge. "He was so big that we couldn't reel him in and had to actually drive the boat to him and pick up the slack.
"I would say it was at least 11ft and had an enormous girth. My guess would be that it weighed between 800lbs and 1,200lbs.
"That would make it the biggest rod caught shark ever in British waters, which would be amazing.
"In days gone by claiming a record meant killing the shark which we absolutely weren't going to do.
"I am still hoping we can claim a record using a system based more on trusting the honesty of the skipper.
"I'm really pleased with it as a catch and the reaction from the fishing world has been unbelievable."
Mako sharks reach top speeds of over 60 mph and are known to have killed three people in 42 attacks, according to the International Shark Attack File.
They are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Rob is not able to register his catch as a record as rules state the shark must be killed and weighed on dry land.
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Mako sharks
Mako sharks are powerful, fast and aggressive sharks that have been linked to attacks on humans.
- The fish are believed to be the fastest of any shark, capable of reaching speeds of 20mph
- Swimming in figure eight patterns, the sharks stalk their prey before attacking
- The International Shark Attack Life has recorded nine attacks on humans between 1580 and 2017, along with 20 attacks on boats
- Mako sharks are classified as an endangered species
- The popularity of their meat for shark fin soup has contributed to the species' decline
- The sharks can grow up to 14ft long and weigh up to 1,300lbs
- They are found in temperate and tropical waters around the world
- Mako sharks can swim 36 miles in a day and travel up to 1,725 miles
- The sharks can live up to 32 years
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