Pregnant great hammerhead shark apparently landed in Destin

This footage of a captured hammerhead shark was uploaded on YouTube by Jeff Bratcher on 08. June 2015.

I assume, without certainty, it has to be the 14 ft great hammerhead ( Sphyrna mokarran ) that was recently caught by a charter boat off Destin, Florida. The female shark weighed 835 pounds and was carrying 34 pups as shown in the video.

According to the Daily News (published on 06. June 2015 here), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is looking into the circumstances of this catch because certain species of hammerhead sharks (including Sphyrna mokarran) are protected in state waters. There is also a photo of the same specimen on facebook here.

In late 2011, FWC Commissioners passed a rule that prohibits the recreational and commercial harvest of tiger sharks and great, scalloped and smooth hammerhead sharks from state waters. The rule took effect January 1, 2012. Please see the related FWC press release here. But it’s still legal to retain a hammerhead shark that was caught in federal waters if no tuna, swordfish, or billfish are onboard. (Helmut Nickel, Shark Year Magazine)

 

3 Comments

  1. Why allow sharks to be caught at all? Let all the shark species re-populate.  There isn’t an over population of Hammerheads in the world. 

  2. Paul Blackwell

    Brian, you are right. Why indeed? But unfortunately a lot of people don’t know, or don’t believe that there is a problem. And indeed if everyone would let the seas recover it would solve so many problems that the oceans face. What is key here is changing public will. And that comes with education. Keep on helping to spread the word.

  3. Horrible to see this senseless killing of an endangered species.  One act results in the loss of over 30 animals!

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