Anyone See This In The Paper Today?

[Davy]

I read this story in the paper today, and found it on the net.

Apparently they had no regrets in killing the shark, and were planning to take it home and eat it.

Fisherman lands 150kg shark

Ross Stone, 36, fought for almost six hours yesterday to land a 2.4m (8 ft) bronze whaler shark at Brighton beach, one of SA's most popular swimming spots.

With the help of mates Daniel Hill, 25, and Louie Power, 28, Mr Stone landed the 150kg haul just before 7am yesterday.

Beachgoers were shocked to see a large, menacing shark caught so close to shore.

"We were off the end of the jetty when it baited and we knew straight away it was a shark," said Mr Stone, of Coromandel Valley.

"It's not a bad size considering the bait was a $20 kingfish."

After hooking the shark from the end of the Brighton jetty, they were forced to take to the beach

and follow the shark almost 800m towards Seacliff.

Dragged along the beach in the darkness, the three took turns at holding the rod as the shark fought to be free.

Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Mr Ross removed layers of clothing before he managed to reel in the shark using just a 24kg breaking-strain fishing line.

But rather than elation, Mr Stone's first reaction was to be physically sick.

"I threw up when it was finally over," he said, his hands still shaking more than two hours afterwards.

"I was full of adrenaline and exhaustion and pain."

The men, who regularly fish at Brighton, dragged the shark back to the jetty using a rope so they could show it off to fellow anglers.

News of the catch spread quickly among residents, who flocked to be photographed with the shark.

Many congratulated the men for removing the predator from the sea.

"It makes me feel very hesitant because my husband swims in these waters," said Carole Cawte, of Seacliff.

"I've never seen a shark this big before, even though I've seen a few caught off the jetty."

While not as dangerous as great whites, experts say bronze whalers are agressive feeders which can attack humans.

In November, last year, a 1.8m bronze whaler savaged the leg of 18-year-old Tom Burke while he was surfing off the Victorian coast.

And in Sydney, surfer Simon Letch, 40, was attacked in April just off Bronte Beach.

Karen Christie, of Trott Park, said she had a greater fear of sharks after two fatal attacks in the past two years.

Nick Peterson, 18, and Jarrod Stehbens, 23, were both killed at popular Adelaide suburban beaches in separate white pointer attacks.

"It's scary to see it up close," she said. "I definitely worry about sharks when I go for a swim now."

Recreational fishermen who frequent Brighton jetty say bronze whalers are not uncommon.

"There is no way I'd ever go swimming at night," said Chris Wache, 25, of Warradale. "There are usually lots of bronze whalers, a lot more than people realise."

The last person killed by a shark at Brighton Beach was Primrose White in 1926.

She became the state's first recorded shark attack victim.

Yesterday, the three men who caught the bronze whaler said they were not sorry it had been killed.

"People don't complain about us catching it because they want to feel safe," Mr Hill said.

"We are going to take it home now and probably eat it."

Any thoughts?

[Little_Flatty]

Sad to see them killing the shark.

But I can handle that to some extent...as annoying as it is to see people doing that.

What really irks me about this bloke is that he was quite obviously fishing for sharks in close proximity to a popular swimming area...what else would you use a $20 kingfish as bait for? If he was serious he'd probably have a slick of pilchards and tuna oil stretching for kilometres as well.

Very irresponsible of him and give us recreational anglers a bad name.

[Gibbofisho]

There's noithing wrong with taking a bronzie for some flake. A 2.5m one would have been better off rubbing on your cuts and grazes though, it would have tasted pretty bad!

[Alex]

Yeah It's sometimes pretty sad to see when so many people just hate these things outright. It's their backyard first. I think at a certain size, maybe a bit bigger than this( 210-250+) they end up full of Amonia anyway, eat at your own risk so to speak.

[Ken A]

I think a lot of people just assume all sharks are deadly & should be killed. They don't know much about the water & don't want to. However they all have a right to an opinion (even though it's wrong just joking )

I also think if people were aware of just how many sharks are cruising around our waterways & beaches they would not be game to get their big toe wet.

Small bronzies make great fish cocktails & many a slow night in Cowan Creek has been livened up with plenty of berley , a little wire, a 3kg baitcaster & a few 4 or 5 kilo bronzies

[Guest madsmc]

Seeing that it was caught at a "popular swimming spot" it will be interesting to see if the SA Fisheries department reacts in a similar fashion to the way NSW Fisheries reacted to the "Great White Hunters" at Stockton Beach.

Those guys copped a fair bit of flack for that, so I don't think we'll be seeing them on the telly again. Thankfully the draconian ban placed on bait size and certain types of tackle by NSW Fisheries expired at the end of 2005.

Shane

[Gibbofisho]

I couldn't agree more, i love informing cronulla swimmers of how many bronzies there are cruising the hacking and local beaches

[Davy]

NSW Fisheries reacted to the "Great White Hunters" at Stockton Beach.

Shane, do u have a link for that? didnt hear about it.

Cheers

Davy

[Guest madsmc]

Shane, do u have a link for that? didnt hear about it.

Cheers

Davy

Davy, here's the link to the page that details the ban that was put in place towards the end of last year.

The ban was brought about to stop the guys targeting sharks off the beach, but the way it was worded also affected people fishing for jews off the beach with large live or dead baits (ie: greater than 200 grams) and also the use of traces which many anglers would use when spinning metals for tailor.

Shane