Teenager catches record sized blue shark

Shark Year Magazine, 18 August 2011.

Fifteen-year-old Ethan Lynch may have broken a state record by catching a huge blue shark (Prionace glauca) off Newburyport in Essex County, Massachusetts.

The impressive catch measured 12 foot long and weighed 458 pounds.

The Massachusetts state’s current record-holder was 454 pounds and caught in 1996.

Ethan was on board the Erica Lee II on Aug. 9 when he hooked the shark about 20 miles off shore near Jeffreys Ledge. The teenager reeled the record catch in after a 35-minute struggle .

The young angler participated in a weeklong Coastal Discoveries Program offered by Erica Lee II Charters. This program allows kids the chance to explore area waters, learn more about the creatures that inhabit the region and do a little fishing.

Source: boston.com

Photo Credit: Lee Yeomans.