Published: August 7. 2008 09:21AM
The Royal Gazette
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By Robyn Skinner
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Bathers and boaters have nothing to fear from this fourteen and half foot, almost 900pound tiger shark and not just because it's dead on the dock.
This shark was caught more than 12 miles from Bermuda's shores at Challenger Bank by Michael Barnes and his son Scott.
Not just off Spanish Point in Pembroke as e-mails shooting around the Island would have the public believe.
Mr. Barnes, a professional fisherman, said yesterday he had been inundated by phone calls and emails, but wanted to assure the public the only reason it is photographed at Spanish Point Boat Club was because that was where he brought it in.
He said: "They (tiger sharks) come up this time of year and in July and August there's quite a lot of them out there (on Challenger Banks).It took me almost two to three hours to bring him in to the boat club, cause I am a member of the Spanish Point Boat Club.
"I go get them (sharks) when I need them. People want the shark for shark hash. I might catch four or five a year and every piece got sold. "We don't throw anything away. I got him at four o'clock and didn't get into Spanish Point Boat Club till 6.30 or 7 p.m." Caught almost two and a half weeks ago the tiger shark was so heavy at 847 pounds, in fact, the professional fisherman could not hoist it into his boat Vitamin Sea and instead dragged it next to his boat into the dock.A crane on shore helped lift it out of the water where it was photographed and is how Mr. Barnes suspects, the photos began circulating the Island.Once on shore, Mr. Barnes carted the shark away in his truck and after opening the shark found a whole turtle weighing about 80 pounds, another 60 pound shark, a turbot and a mackerel.It was one of the largest tiger sharks, Mr. Barnes said, he had ever caught before.The tiger shark, which is the second largest predatory shark other than the great white, has a voracious appetite and will frequently feed on turtles, squids, seals among other sea animals. They are common in tropical and sub-tropical waters throughout the world.Large specimens can grow to as much as 20 to 25 feet in length and weigh more than 1,900 pounds.Almost the same time last year, there was an 800 pound tiger shark also caught in the same area by fisherman Darrell Steynor.
