Great White Shark Caught Off Panama City Beach

By  //  March 3, 2015

took about 45 minutes to reel in

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A nearly 10-foot great white shark was caught in the surf at Panama City Beach, Fla., on Sunday (March 1). The shark was photographed, tagged and released by a trio of anglers. (Dark Side Sharkers)

PANAMA BEACH, FLORIDA – A nearly 10-foot great white shark was caught in the surf at Panama City Beach, Florida on March 1. The shark was photographed, tagged and released by a trio of anglers.

Gabriel Smeby, Derrick Keeny, and Kyle Register go shark fishing as crew members of Dark Side Sharkers. Their goal: To help save the protected species.

The men were fishing from the beach around 3:15 a.m. when the shark struck one of their lines, the story said. It took about 45 minutes to get the 9-foot, 8.5-inch shark to the shore.

“So I had to run up there to the truck real quick and get the digital camera, come down there and by then they were working on de-hooking the fish and working on placing the tag. We got a couple quick pictures with it and sent the great white on its way,” Smeby said.

Dr. John Carlson, a research fishery biologist with NOAA, says it’s obvious this was a Great White.

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Dr. John Carlson

“The white shark teeth are very characteristically triangular shaped. The shape of the head and the nose from what the photographs show, gave it away that it was a white shark,” Carlson said.

Now that Spring Break is right around the corner, experts say there are a few things to keep in mind.

“When you’re kicking in the water, in dark times of the day or when the visibility is poor that splashing in the water looks very much like an injured bait fish, which is the normal sharks’ prey,” Carlson explained.

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A nearly 10-foot great white shark was caught in the surf at Panama City Beach, Fla., on Sunday (March 1). The shark was photographed, tagged and released by a trio of anglers. (Dark Side Sharkers)