Larry “Boo” Pawley, 65, accidentally captured an 8.6-foot, 310-pound bull shark on Monday. (Larry Powley - Maryland Department of Natural Resources)
A Maryland fisherman may have snagged one of his biggest catches ever — and didn't even mean to.
Larry “Boo” Pawley, 65, was fishing off Decer Point in St. Mary’s County on Monday when he managed to trap an 8.6-foot, 310-pound bull shark. The fisherman told the Baltimore Sun it wasn’t the first shark he caught, but it was definitely the most impressive one.
“I’ve been on the water for 42 years,” Powley told the newspaper. “I’ve never seen one that big.”
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Maryland Department of Natural Resources posted a photo of Powley next to the massive shark on its Facebook page on Tuesday, said the commercial fisherman “accidentally” captured the shark.
Powley revealed the bull shark swam into a trap he had out.
Bull sharks are known to consume fish, sharks and rays in fresh and shallow waters. They are one of the meanest and most aggressive predators, but they help out fishermen because they feed on cownose rays, which eat crabs and oysters.
“[Cownose rays are the] worst predator you got in the bay,” he said. “Shows up just in time for the first shed of soft crabs.”
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Powley said he threw the shark back into the water after snapping a picture with it. He added that under Maryland law he could have kept the fish, but said bull sharks weren’t worth much.
“They’re only worth 50 cents a pound,” Pawley said.