Warning: This footage may be disturbing to some viewers
North Florida beachgoers were surprised this week when a rare marine animal got caught on a fishing rod.
On Sunday, bystander Brooke Gamble posted footage of the incident at Miramar Beach near Destin, Florida, where dozens of people watched as the fisherman spent hours trying to reel in his big catch. It seemed like he was watching over me.
Soon the curious crowd saw what was on the other side. It was a 7.5 foot shark.
“At first we didn’t know exactly what he had caught, so it wasn’t a big deal,” Gamble told Fox News Digital, adding that it was the first time he had seen a live shark. “As it approached the shore, we realized it was a shark and everyone around us started cheering. We were excited to say the least.”
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The shark, found near Destin, Florida, was about 8 feet long. (Brooke Gamble/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX)
Gamble’s video shows the shark stuck in shallow water on the beach as a fisherman approaches it and begins to drag it in.
A crowd of nervous onlookers is seen gathering around the man, watching the somewhat unusual and potentially dangerous encounter unfold.
The crowd seemed amused and surprised by the prey. Several beachgoers grabbed their smartphones and recorded the event.
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But beachgoers soon cheered as the man strangled the shark and brought it to shore.
“What is he thinking?” an awed female beachgoer can be heard asking.
When he was finally captured, the audience immediately erupted in applause. They also took photos with the men who helped dispose of the shark.
A Facebook user said it took the fisherman 45 minutes to reel in the shark. (Brooke Gamble/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX)
Gamble told Fox News Digital that it took fishermen two hours to reel in the shark.
“Touch it! Touch it!” one person is heard saying off camera.
A measuring tape was immediately taken out and the shark’s length was measured, which was 7.5 feet. Great white sharks can reach up to 20 feet, and whale sharks can reach over 60 feet, according to the Smithsonian Institution.
When the fun was over, a group of men led the shark back into the ocean.
After the spectacle was over, a group of men apparently tried to release the shark back into the ocean. (Brooke Gamble/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX)
There was no sign that the shark was injured in the encounter, and Gamble is confident the marine animal is safe.
“We know the shark is safe because the fishermen released it into the wild,” she explained.
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The man who helped bring the fish to shore and the onlookers were also unharmed.
Further details about the incident are not available.
