PORT ARANSAS, Texas – A Texas fisherman caught more than fish this week after capturing a video of a shark being hoisted out of the water onto a pier in Port Aransas.
The fisherman said the incident went down at Keepers Fishing Pier on Wednesday.
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“I was walking up to the pier when I noticed this commotion at the very end and several people were moving frantically,” the fisherman told KSAT. “I’ve seen large fish caught from the pier, jetties, and boats but for a fish of this size to be hoisted up dangling in midair I was in shock.”
The land-based shark fisherman asked to be identified by his work moniker AdVenture Bro. He has a YouTube and TikTok channel where he frequently posts fishing content.
AdVenture Bro told KSAT he wishes this catch had been done differently and noted on his Facebook page that the anglers who made the catch had three pier gaff hooks in the shark.
A pier gaff is a giant, weighted treble hook that fishermen can use to retrieve a catch.
“These are used when the fish is simply too heavy to bring up onto the pier with just your fishing rod. Rather than break your line, just drop your pier gaff down, snag your fish, and bring it up,” according to Ocean-Angler.com.
“Fish this size are the prime of the breeding pool and I hate to see one of this size killed in such a way. It’s barbaric and inhumane and can give shark fishermen as a whole a bad name,” he said. “Fortunately the fish didn’t go to waste and the harvest was shared among all the anglers who helped and more.”
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says anglers are allowed one shark per person, per day.
He provided the following tips to help novice anglers:
- Keep the fish in the water as much as possible.
- Remove the hook quickly and safely.
- Release the fish back into the water ensuring it regains its energy and returns to its habitat to live another day.
- If you do decide to keep it be sure to follow all local fishing regulations.