TWO anglers caught more than they bargained for when they accidentally hooked a thresher shark while fishing half a mile off Boscombe Pier.
Dorset Wildlife Trust member Ben March was with Mark Linzer in a 13ft double kayak when he felt the shark snatch the mackerel he had just caught.
“I managed to pull it in quite close to the kayak and I saw its long tail and could see the mackerel half in its mouth,” he said.
Not wanting to leave the shark with a hook in its mouth, the pair tried to paddle ashore so they could release it, but after 20 minutes, it bit through the line and disappeared.
Thresher sharks, named after their long, mobile tails, are one of more than 30 species of shark found in British waters.
Julie Hatcher, marine awareness officer for Dorset Wildlife Trust, said: “It is always a privilege to encounter one of these iconic animals in the wild. As top predators, sharks play a pivotal role in maintaining balance in the marine environment. Thresher sharks are not aggressive to humans, but their size and power should be respected.”
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