14 DAY TRIAL // A British businessman made the catch of a lifetime while on a fishing holiday in South Africa: he hooked a great white shark weighing a record-breaking two tonnes.
Andy Hales, 55, was fishing for yellow fin tuna in the waters around Cape Agulhas, in South Africa, when he captured the 18-foot (5.5-meter) long shark on March 25.
The angler, from Birmingham, says that after the sea beast took his line, he struggled two hours to reel it in, and the shark towed his 32ft (9.75m) boat for more than two miles (or 3.21km).
“I would describe it as exhilarating rather than unnerving. Having sharks as long as 18ft [5.5m] circling you is a hell of an experience. It’s not just the length which leaves you astounded. Some of them are just huge – the width was like a wide office desk. They’re incredible,” Hales said, as reported by ITV.
After two long and exhausting hours, Andy finally won the epic battle with the massive shark and brought it under control. He got some help from the skipper of the boat, who was an experienced shark catcher, having worked with the Natal Fishing Board to research great whites, and from Richard Foster, a fellow businessman who was with him in the boat at that moment and who has his own fishing equipment firm in Witton.
“When I finally reeled it in I just felt elated. It was one of the most incredible experiences,” the angler recalls.
“When we got it next to the boat it was just incredible - it was the width of two shire horses standing next to each other,” his friend Foster added.
Because it was too big to be taken on board the single-engine propelled vessel, the great white was measured by the boat's skipper and then released back into the ocean.
According to the International Game Fish Association, the biggest line-caught great white tipped the scales at 1.2 tonnes (2,664lb), and was captured in Australia, in 1959.
Hales' catch is estimated to have weighed in at around 1.75 tonnes (3,600lb), which means it broke the previous record, though its catch has not been registered yet by the association.
Great white sharks are mainly known for their size, with mature individuals growing up to 6.4 m (21 ft) in length and over 3,000 kg (7,000 lb) in weight. They are the largest predatory fish in the world and are believed to have a life span of over 30 years.