Massive bull shark caught 'just off Miami Beach hotels'

A bull shark measuring nearly 10 feet long and weighing 624 pounds was caught Thursday night on a Mark the Shark charter in South Florida.

Capt. Mark “the Shark” Quartiano stated Friday via Instagram: “Caught in 10 feet of water off the Miami Beach hotels!!!”

The renowned guide, who is often criticized for killing large sharks, said via text message that the shark was hooked 100 yards from shore and it’s stomach contained “1/2 a tarpon, 3 jack crevalles, 1 hawksbill turtle, and 1 permit.” Mark the Shark did not provide the angler's name.

Among the hashtags used in the Instagram post: #catchingmonsters, #dangeroussharks, #maneater, #sharkhunter, and #nothinggetsaway.

The bull shark was about 70 pounds shy of the all-tackle world record.

Comments

[tobey blanton]

bullsharks are taking over.....they need to be culled....same as the case of the cute little green lizards in florida........the agressive cuban anoles wiped them out and took over....same thing is going to happen with sharks....the population of bullsharks has exploded and as a scuba diver I can attest to their aggressiveness....hammerheads and reef sharks are docile compared to these beasts....they are the pit-bulls of the ocean...and they are dangerous....

[Nicolas Ibarguen]

This is not only sad to see, it also represents our viciousness and ignorance as a specie. From some of the comments in this thread, is easy to see the general ignorance about this issue very clear. There will always be individuals that are just clueless and will remain ignorant until the day they die, there are people who just choose to stay that way. But for the vast majority, once they know better and get educated, they will for sure change their views and understand the importance of protecting all species of sharks. Sharks have been around far longer than us on this planet, they play an important role as apex predator keeping our ocean healthy. We kill about 60 million sharks every year while less than 5 people gets killed by sharks every year. Over 17,000 people die from falls each year. That’s a 1 in 218 chance over your lifetime, compared to a 1 in 3,700,000 chance of being killed by a shark. You have a 1 in 63 chance of dying from the flu and a 1 in 3,700,000 chance of being killed by a shark during your lifetime. our Oceans are in peril and it is time that we change our attitudes and get educated if we want to survive as a specie in the not very long term.

[NYC Mom]

Well my daughter was approached by a bullshark in 5 feet of water off Miami Beach today around 5pm. There is no explantion why it turned away but thank God it did....If I had a big freaking harpoon WE would be eating shark for dinner tonight....There is NO ANIMAL IN THIS WORLD worth more than ONE SINGLE HUMAN LIFE and those of you morons who put more value on animals than they do on humans (especially those sick b*st*rds who wish this fisherman ill) may want to remember you get as good as you give and what goes around comes around. Be careful what you wish on others. Karma is a b*tch.

[SS]

Shark lover are hater, ignorant And disgusting.
They think Green And feel like white knight.... Pour people With empty life...
Even if you send money to sea shepherd does't make you a warrior!
Let the fisherman doing his job

[Ernane Santos]

BRAVO, bullshark is global prague and not in extinction

[C.P.]

STOP killing our oceans sharks - the species are all declining because sharks take many years to mature and start breeding and when they do they are not like salmon that can lay a million eggs at a time - these beautiful and manificent creatures give birth to less then 10 at a time - thats a far cry from millions- so taking this amazing creature and kill it is an aweful thing to do -- YOU were in its house the shark didnt come to you -- and if you hate sharks then dont go to the beach and stay out of the water, remember we as people like a clean ocean - if it wasnt for the sharks who eat the dead carcases of other fish and whales in the sea our beaches and water would be polluted with bacteria and rotten meat -- THINK TWICE before killing another

[mike]

I shark fish myself along with most of my friends and weve killed one bullshark only because it ate a bait broke us off and came back and ate another bait not 20 minutes later. And we know it was the same shark because it had our new leader we just made stuck in its mouth and a shark that aggressive should not be in the water where it could hurt or kill a person. None of the shark went to waste as we kept the James and divided the near between my friends and I.

[Ryan Nap]

Although shark populations are declining, any person who is in the fishing community will tell you that Bull sharks are not threatened as a population, and also are one of, if not the most, aggressive species that ply the coastal waters. These are dangerous, more so than tigers or great whites, bulls make up a large number of attacks each year. In the South Florida area, they lead the pack. Although killing for killings sake is not an ethical management tactic, these are far from endangered, or docile pescatarians.

[Bryan Estevez]

I hate sharks. Im glad they killed it. I go with my kids to miami beach all the time. The last thing I want is my family or me getting hurt by one of these vicious animals.

[D]

I hope that Mark the Shark has liver or pancreatic cancer in his near future. To see this pos suffer to death would be entertaining.

[w]

This man is ignorant and disgusting.

[Debbie DeNeese]

With the current pressure on sharks worldwide, what kind of idiot STILL makes his living killing them, and posing beside their carcasses like they're some great hunter? Just a tip, moron, we're not impressed. I'm guessing you're a little short in some other department to have to prove your manhood this way.

[Bari Gowan]

WHY was this shark caught?? What the hell are people doing when these animals are already under massive threat to their continued existence, as listed in the public domain on CITES?
What is the point of this macho bullshit!?
Was the git who caught the shark under any threat whatsoever?

[Bonnie Pelnar]

There is no good reason for taking a beautiful animal like that out of the ocean. Mark is a dick! Disgusting!!!!!!!

[CornwallsVoice]

I find this very sad - just because you can doesn't mean you should.
What is he trying to prove here ? What is there to be proud of ?!

[regina]

you're disgusting for killing this animal

[jj]

If that shark is only 10ft. That guy is a midget