The controversial catch of a 1323.5-pound mako shark in early June off Orange County is back in the news because the catch has not been submitted for world record consideration.
The Los Angeles Times quotes International Game Fish Assn. spokesman Jack Vitek as saying, "We still haven't heard from them."
Texas angler Jason Johnston landed the shark, but was part of a three-man charter out of Breakaway Charters in Huntington Harbour.
Kent Williams, who weighed the shark on a certified scale, said the meat was initially to be donated to needy families through a shelter. Instead, the shark was kept in a freezer for days, Williams said, because the team wanted to make sure everything was in order for the world record submission.
The current shortfin mako record is a 1,221-pound specimen caught off Chatham, Massachusetts, in 2001.
Johnston's catch was criticized, even by some anglers, because sharks are so over-fished, and because breeder-size makos help control a sea lion population that is at or near historic highs.
Johnston told KTLA that the mako "is definitely a killing machine," but some people commented via social media that anglers who remove sharks for the sake of setting records are the real killing machines.
The catch could still be submitted for consideration. The approval process, once the paperwork has been submitted, generally takes two months.
--Pete Thomas
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