Huge Great White Shark Caught off the Coast of Washington-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
According to the eRumor, a commercial fishing boat named the “Dawn Raider” hooked a giant great white shark while fishing for dogfish near Ocean Shores, Washington. It allegedly resisted for only about 15-minutes then came alongside the vessel and a crewmember slipped a rope around its tail. The fish towed the fishing boat around for an hour before being subdued. The shark is said to have weighed 1035 pounds.
The Truth:
According to the Magazine Yarmouth website these pictures were taken by Carla Allen and were actually those of a mako shark caught during a shark fishing derby in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
The event was known as the Yarmouth Shark Scramble and took place in August, 2004.
The fisherman was Jamie Doucette from Wedgeport, British Columbia, Canada, and he won first place in the derby.
According to www.newenglandsharks.com, this shark was a big one—weighing 1082 pounds.
The eRumor claims that the shark pulled the boat around for an hour but comments on www.newenglandsharks.com from a crewmember aboard the boat said that although it was an adventure getting the shark secured with ropes, it did not tow the boat.
There are several versions of this eRumor. Some of them say the shark was caught off the coast of British Columbia, Canada and warn swimmers to stay away from Port Albio, Ucluelet, and Barkley Sound.
Updated 3/12/12