Saturday 20 July 2013

World's fastest shark is caught off the British coast for the first time in 42 years


The world's fastest shark has been caught off British coast by actor actor Julian Lewis Jones. Julian is pictured here on the right with friends
The world's fastest shark has been caught off British coast by actor actor Julian Lewis Jones. Julian is pictured here on the right with friends

The world's fastest shark has been caught in British waters for the first time in 42 years. 
The 6ft-long mako shark - a cousin of the man-eating Great White - can reach speeds of 46 mph and leap 30ft into the air.
It was landed by Hollywood actor Julian Lewis Jones, who starred with Matt Damon in Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood. 
Mr Lewis Jones, who landed the shark while on holiday in Pembrokeshire, described the catch as something 'you dream of'.

The actor, 44, said: 'We saw this flash that whizzed passed the boat - it was a big white belly and it went so, so fast.
'Next thing this shark leapt 15ft in the air off the back of the stern of the boat.
'We all looked at each other and said: 'That's a mako' and we knew the importance of it.
'This is something that you dream of.'
He was fishing with friends 30 miles off Milford Haven, West Wales, when he landed the mako - officially described as the fastest species of shark in the ocean.
Mako, which grow up to 14ft in length, have been know to jump into fishing boats.
The group had already caught and released two blue sharks weighing 120lbs (55kg) each when they saw something flash past in the water.

The actor was fishing with pals 30 miles off Milford Haven, West Wales, when he landed the mako - officially described as the fastest species of shark in the ocean. It can reach speeds of 46 mph and leap 30ft into the air
The actor was fishing with pals 30 miles off Milford Haven, West Wales, when he landed the mako - officially described as the fastest species of shark in the ocean. It can reach speeds of 46 mph and leap 30ft into the air


Mr Lewis Jones, who has appeared on angling programmes on Sky TV and Welsh-language channel S4C, said the team all worked together to bring the shark in.
He said: 'Mako sharks are aggressive and fast animals and they have been known to actually jump inside boats.
'It was around 40 minutes before we had him on the side of the boat and he went a bit ballistic and you can't control it - it's a wild animal, it's like trying to control a rhino.
'We were so privileged, absolutely stoked to have done it and it was the first off the coast of Wales.'
The four men managed to slip a circle hook into the corner of the shark's mouth and get him to the deck of the boat.
The shark weighed in at around 200lbs (90kg) and measured around 6ft (2m).
The International Shark Attack File (ISAF) has recorded 42 mako attacks on humans between 1980 and 2010, three of which were fatal, along with twenty boat attacks.
The last time a mako shark was reported to have been caught in Britain was in June 1971 off Looe, Cornwall.
The organisation says divers who have encountered makos say that, prior to an attack, they will swim in a figure-of-eight pattern and approach with mouths open.

Culled from DAILY MAIL

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