A TIGER shark weighing more than 400 kilograms was caught during a fishing tournament near Port Stephens last weekend.
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The 433kg shark caught on Saturday, February 20 was the heaviest presented to the weigh station of the two-day 2016 Garmin Sylvania Marina Shootout.
The capture is credited to Michael Middleton on tournament host Newcastle Port Stephens Game Fish Club’s website.
The shark was caught on a 60kg line.
It is not yet known where in Port Stephens the shark was captured, nor what happened to it after it was weighed.
However, it is believed to have been caught inside the fishing area for the shootout which extends south to Bird Island and north to Latitude Rock.
The prize for capturing the heaviest shark, weighing more than 350kg, in the competition was $12,500.
The same amount was on offer for the capture of a marlin weighing more than 150kg.
A 165kg Blue Marlin, caught on a 37kg line, was the winner of the major prize.
The shootout allows for both capture and tag and release.
An image of the tiger shark, hanging upside down from the weigh station at Nelson Bay Public Wharf, was posted to the Shark Spotters community Facebook page on Sunday.
On Tuesday afternoon the image, captured by Mark Staveley, had more than 530 likes, 540 comments and had been shared 310 times.
Opinions made on the Shark Spotters post of the Nelson Bay capture varied.
Kym von Hooton said: “What an am amazing creature. Such a shame he wasn't left alone in his home so he could to continue to live.”
Mark Osborne said : “It's a fish... Beer batter, salt & pepper, lemon awesome.”
While Andy Greenwood said: “Who says that these boys didn't donate this tiger shark to science for research so we can learn more about these animals to help protect and understand them more? Or are we all just making assumptions?”.
