South Carolina teacher's 173-pound shark confirmed as new state record
It beat out the previous record by about 2 pounds
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That’s a lot of shark.
A teacher from South Carolina recently reeled in a massive shark while on a fishing trip. According to local officials, it has been confirmed that this animal set a new record in the state.
Nikki Colwell told Fox news that she caught the 173-pound spinner shark in mid-April. She was out on a fishing trip with her father near Edisto Island when she reeled in the animal. According to her, she and her father had initially planned on fishing for larger tiger sharks in a different area, but their anchor became stuck on something so they decided to fish where they were.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She explained that it had been a busy day and she caught several other sharks, but she released all of them back into the water. The record-breaking spinner shark was her last catch of the day.
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While it would have been an impressive catch to begin with, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has officially confirmed that this shark is the largest of its kind caught in the state.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nikki Colwell explained that it had been a busy day and she caught several other sharks, but she released all of them back into the water. The record-breaking spinner shark was her last catch of the day.
Colwell described reeling the shark in, saying that it did a lot of head shaking and actually broke the tip of her rod. After about a half-hour, she was able to get it into the boat. While the shark did put up a fight, Colwell said it wasn't anything she hasn't dealt with before and that she wasn't particularly tired after pulling the shark into the boat.
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After catching the shark, Colwell and her father reportedly drove an hour-and-a-half to Charleston Harbor Marina in order to get it weighed on a certified scale. The shark had to be stored somewhere overnight, however, before someone from the DNR could look at it. Fortunately, her father had a friend who owned a restaurant and they were able to store the shark in the walk-in freezer overnight.
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The vertebrae and reproductive organs of the shark were saved for a South Carolina Department of Natural Resources project. These will be used to determine the shark's age. Colwell's family apparently has some bets placed with each other over the shark's age (Colwell says she's betting it's 17-years-old).
The rest was reportedly eaten by Colwell’s family and friends over the course of two weeks.