A 2-Meter Long Shark Leaps onto Fishing Boat, Shocking Fishermen.
Fishermen hurriedly move away as the mako shark falls onto the deck of the boat.
The mako shark bit onto a fishing lure while the Lady Anne boat was shark fishing off the coast of Maine on August 27. As it leaped out of the water and struggled to escape the line, it suddenly surged through the air and landed on the deck of the boat. Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident, according to Sea Ventures Charters, the company that owns the Lady Anne. After the event, the shark was tagged for tracking and released back into the wild.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), mako sharks can grow up to 4 meters long and weigh 544 kilograms. Both shortfin and longfin mako sharks (distinguished by the length of their pectoral fins) are fast-swimming migratory species capable of traveling at speeds of up to 48 kilometers per day. They are renowned for their acrobatic abilities when hooked, often jumping and flipping out of the water.
Mako sharks are among the most difficult shark species to keep in captivity. All captive specimens have died within a week. The longest-lived case was at the New Jersey aquarium in 2001, where the shark refused to eat and quickly weakened, ultimately dying after 5 days.
NOAA reports that shortfin mako sharks are experiencing a serious decline. The primary threat to their population is overfishing. CITES estimates that over one million mako sharks are caught and killed each year. They are hunted for their meat, fins, oil, liver, and cartilage, or caught accidentally. Combined with their slow growth and reproduction rates, mako sharks are classified as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
(Video: Sea Ventures Charters)
