Conservationists praise two Cornish sea anglers who released a threatened 10-foot-long porbeagle shark after it had dragged their boat for a mile and taken an hour and a half to reel in.
Wayne Comben and Graeme Pullen from Hampshire caught the porbeagle, a member of the Great White family, off the Cornish coast.
They estimated it to be 3m long and 250kg in weight and could have claimed the official record.
The existing British shark record stands at 229kg, but for any fish to be officially recognised as the biggest, rules stipulate it to be killed and weighed on shore.
Instead, Mr Pullen legally tagged the shark and returned it to the water.
The shark first appeared after the men dumped their bait in the sea after a day’s fishing.
“I’ve never in my life seen something as aggressive,” said Mr Pullen. “I have done tagging all around the world… I have never seen one as charged up and excited as this one.”
I’ve never in my life seen something as aggressive… I have never seen one as charged up and excited as this one. Graeme Pullen
Mr Pullen said that the fish hook was bent out of shape: “We were so lucky.”
But he added: “I consider myself privileged to see such a sight, as does Wayne.”
It took the two men about 90 minutes to reel in the shark as it dragged their 5m boat for more than a mile.
Whilst the two men missed out on the record, their actions have been praised by conservation experts.
Ali Hood director of conservation at the Shark Trust said the men’s behaviour in carefully releasing the animal was “commendable”.
She added: “Handling an animal of this size takes a great deal of experience.
“It’s vital that anyone who does catch one of these animals releases it as quickly and cleanly as possible.”
It’s vital that anyone who does catch one of these animals releases it as quickly and cleanly as possible. Ali Hood, Shark Trust
Ms Hood warned that attempting to board a shark of this size “could cause injury to both animal and human”.
Although a member of the Great White family of sharks, the porbeagle is not thought to be a threat to humans.
In the Northern Hemisphere they are normally found only in and around the Atlantic ocean and are listed as vulnerable.
The Shark Trust said the porbeagle should be more common in British waters, but it is being threatened by unmanaged fisheries.
In Scottish waters it has been illegal to catch and retain a number of species of shark including the porbeagle since new rules came into force in March.
The Trust is campaigning for similar rules to come into force around the coast of England.