Angler under investigation after illegal catch of great white shark on Huntington Beach Pier (video)

 

Huntington Beach Pier has been crowded recently with shark fishermen and on Tuesday a YouTube user by the name of Ograza 13 uploaded a video showing the illegal capture of a juvenile great white shark that was stuck with a rope gaff, hauled onto the Orange County, Calif., pier and dragged around as it bled and gasped for breath.

Thanks to a tip from a witness and the incriminating footage, the angler who reeled in the five-foot shark has been identified and is under investigation for the take and possession of a protected species.

"We have the shark and we've identified who caught the shark," said Capt. Dan Sforza of the state Department of Fish and Game. "We are investigating and nobody is going to get away with anything."

Sforza declined to identify the angler. White sharks have been protected in California waters since 1994. Unlawful take and possession is a misdemeanor and those in violation face possible jail time and large fines.

Southern California waters are utilized by juvenile white sharks as a feeding ground. They prey mostly on small fishes, rays and other small sharks until they get large enough to migrate offshore and to the north to prey on seals and sea lions.

In the video, one person on the pier repeatedly calls out the word "mako," perhaps believing the quarry was a mako shark. Makos are not protected, but it's an angler's responsibility to understand the law and what he has on the line.

Comments

[DeeDeee]

No respect for the ocean at all, anytime we get in the water we take a chance. In the water, we are in their world and they SHOULD be protected there!! What these people did was wrong and against the DANG law! That beautiful shark was made to suffer, bleed, and thrash around for what? A buch of stupid people to laugh at? It is sad to see how people could be so mean!! And for the records sharks don't attack they investigate we as humans are fragile and sometimes have to pay with our lives, those who love the ocean are willing to take that risk and know the shark is not to blame. EDUCATE YOURSELF!!!!

[Shame Onyou]

What kind of peron calls for another to be maimed or executed? Racist.

[Timothy Shorter]

This is so not a mako shark even though they claim it is the the shark is clearly a great white shark a highly protected species and when the guy said he was going to eat it sharks are a high source of mercury and there is a good chance that whoever eats the shark will get mercury poisoning.

[ne0987]

Why do some of you blame illegal aliens? It is some US citizens who work for government or their relatives got the money from them and imported them to here.

[drudown]

@Rick

Actually, younger White sharks have been implicated in many recent White shark attacks on humans (e.g., Plettenberg Bay/South Africa; the Seychelles; several attacks in Australia in 2009). You proffer a popular misconception: White sharks feed "only on fish" as juveniles and then their diet "shifts" to pinnipeds asa adults. Nonsense. White sharks are GENERALIST feeders and verily occupy the selfsame ecological niche as Tiger sharks but in more temperate waters.

Above all, while irrational fear is misplaced, it is hardly accurate to assert "there is absolutely no reason to fear these creatures...in California waters." A White shark attacked and partially consumed our family vet (David Martin) here in Solana Beach. You imply White sharks are harmless. I doubt Lloyd Skinner's family would agree.

While attacks on humans are admittedly exceedingly rare, as mankind materially depletes fish stocks, these highly adaptable, opportunistic and migratory species will look to tertiary prey items- including people.

[Innocent Bystander]

I think these guys are gonna get "gaffed" by their cell mate soon...if you know what I mean. It sure does suck to be stupid!

[Rick]

To the poster that was worried about that GWS hurting surfers: So Cal is a nursery for baby GWS and they are all over So. Cal. inland waters. At this stage of growth they feed only on fish. If they were dangerous to humans there would be reports of shark attacks all the time. When they mature enough to feed on mammals they go somewhere else (Gudalupe Island in Mexico and the Fallarons up north). There is absolutely no reason to fear these creatures or kill them in California waters. As for the DFG, one of the officers was there and even posed for a picture with the guy who caught it. The DFG officer didn't even know what it was and had to call a biologist to ID it???? And BTW, a fishing license is not even required for pier fishing in California???

[OLSRFBUM]

Out law those line gaffs for starters, makos have round teeth and great whites have flat teeth.

[Fxybaby]

Unfortunately fishing off the pier you do not need a fishing license but you are also not allowed to fish with those types of hooks. They have no respect for wild life. I bet they did not even plan on eating their catch. I hope they are punished to the fullest extent if the law.

[saved a life]

For all we know, that white shark could have attacked and killed a local surfer that day. These guys unknowing possibly saved a local surfer's life or a swimmer. White sharks don't have mercy on humans and the guys who cought it mentioned they were planning on eating it. So in my humble opinion, the shark is part of the food chain, and luckily it was caught by fisherman before it could mortally wound a human.

Hate always gets in the way of logical thinking, so I understand why so many commenters are responding to this catch the way they are. It's the nationality of the fisherman that is the problem here, not that they caught a GREAT WHITE SHARK. Hate is such a ugly emotion and the OCR has plenty of haters. Don't call them racist though cause you might offend them...LOL.

[Juhbewdy]

I love how everyone automatically assumes that these anglers are illegal. Sure they're Hispanic, and obviously they're ignorant of the laws, but that certainly doesn't give us the indecency of assuming something based on the fact that the speaker is Hispanic. I swear everyone here is using a fish to make racist comments.

By the way, am I the only one who's a little freaked out that there's a great white shark swimming around HB's pier? I mean I have friends that surf there often that are more than likely smaller than that great white "juvenile."

[Jennifer]

Hopefully the punishment for this will be taken very seriously...not only are white sharks protected but are ENDANGERED!
It also should be the ones that helped with the shark that get punished as well. This is absolutely appauling. If they even had a fishing license, they would be made aware of what is and is not allowed.
we are killing 100 MILLION sharks every year and enough is enough. These creatures reproduce WAY too slowly to keep up (many do not even mature sexually until they are between 20-25 yrs old and have few pups)..they are NOT sustainable nor should they be eaten, as with ANY of the large ocean life, they contain HIGH levels of mercury which can cause serious health problems.
Just so nice of them to, not only catch and ultimately kill, drag this wonderful shark around the pier causing it to suffer..simply to show off how 'manly' and 'cool' they are. geee you all must be sooooo proud ....doesn't say anything to me but how disrespectful and selfish you are. shame on you all!

[CM]

Yep...that's a juvenile great white. I feel bad for the fish - a predator that demands respect, hauled in by low life individuals - dragged around and laughed at. Ship these guys back to you know where...

[Julie Wright]

There are only 219 Great Whites remaining off the US West coast- this one juvenile shark- a female- is a great loss for the perennity of the species.
Even if they were targetting threshers, they too are suffering severe population declines having been over exploited, like most sharks in the oceans, for their fins to satisfy an Asian craving for elitist sharkfin soup. (The bill to ban sharkfin in California should be voted tomorrow- call your senators & support AB376!)
As for these ignorant & avid "fishermen" they should go to jail. The extinction of a species cannot be permitted in the name of human entertainement, or for a deluxe food fad.

[Dana]

Banning fishing isn't the answer. So many laws to control people's actions when the bottom line is, "You can't fix stupid!".

[kathy]

i understand the anger at the violation of catching a protected animal, but the people who are horrified by the violence of this episode are pretty ignorant... do all of you not eat seafood? what about the poor salmon and tuna and trout out there? for those of you calling for heinous punishments of this fisherman, are you ready to ban seafood hauling/fishing too and punish all fishermen?

and to those of you hating on mexicans, i'm sure we americans all sound utterly eloquent when we travel overseas too!

[Bill Bagging]

They are probably illegal so nothing will happen to them. The great demise of this country.

[Ted]

They kept calling it a mako which is a very close relative of a white shark but this one looked much more like a juvenile gr8 white than a mako. And I know because I've seen them both up close. Evidently, these "fishermen" are too ignorant to also know that apex predators like sharks and tuna are full of mercury and should eaten very infrequently.

[Kevin]

That definitely looks like a Great White. They should be bann from fishing in Cali waters.

[Kris]

Since these guys (i believe all involed should suffer) are a waist of our tax money, lets throw all these SOB off the side of a boat and let them swim to the point of exhaustion. Then hook them and drag them around till the bleed to death. I would love to see that on youtube!

[alex]

ok put up a sign in spanish..that's all.

[Susan Schaben]

Ignorant people should not be permitted to fish on our public pier. Where were authorities? I can't believe that no one on the pier who saw this did anything about it. It's shameful.

[Veroncia]

Apparently they were of Hispanic origin! I can hear them speaking Spanish! These people need to understand that this is not Mexico this is a country with rules, guidelines, and regulations! It is absolutely ridiculous to hear them celebrate their victory in capturing the shark! Repudiation is what I feel, and to see the beautiful shark gasping for his last breath was absolutely appalling to me! Hope this idiot pays, and gasps even more when he gets penalized! Enough Said!!

[Lisa]

Totally clueless idiots. I doubt they even have a fishing license. This is such a tragedy and I hope they are caught and likely deported. I really hope that someone caught a picture of their faces and turned it in. No doubt that is a White shark and I don't fish. Fish and Game needs to hook these guys aby the mouth and feet nd drag them on the pier like they did with this beautiful fish.

[Pelican Cat]

That was terrible! That poor shark suffered all of those minutes when this guy knew what he was doing was wrong and illegal! All that blood. I hope that he gets convicted and spends months in jail and is never allowed to fish/hunt again, anywhere!