A teenage fisherman reeled in a great white shark after half an hour of his rod out in the water.
Tim Fairhurst, 18, shared incredible snaps of his accidental catch on his 'Timmo the Fisho' Facebook page on Tuesday.
He explained he and two pals were out on a boat in Bowentown, New Zealand on the lookout for bronze whaler sharks but ended up catching something far more powerful.
After pulling the great white in beside their boat, the team decided to tow it to shore on Waihi Beach for a closer look.
They then released the young predator in accordance with the law.
Navy veteran can still hear sharks eating 600 of his comrades alive after ship sunk
Tim wrote on Facebook: "What a wicked surprise we had in the weekend, something I didn't think I'd ever catch! We made the trip over to Bowentown to have a crack at getting some bronzies.
"However it wasn't a bronzie that we caught. We hooked what we thought was one and turns out to be a young great white! With Chloe on the wheel, Dan on the deckie work I was on the rod!
"After a solid fight and some awesome teamwork we had it boat side. Then we towed it into the beach to get a nice healthy release.
"We got our hook out and also got a flasher rig out of its mouth. Grabbed a few photos and sent it on its way home. What an epic experience for us all."
Just a month earlier, Kaelah Marlow, 19, from Hamilton died following a shark attack at Bowentown on January 7.
Great white sharks are a protected species. The Department of Conservation website says "it is not illegal to accidentally catch a great white shark provided the shark is immediately released alive and unharmed".
Fairhurst told the New Zealand Herald: "It's the most exciting catch I've had, I don't know anyone else who's caught a great white before.
"You get a lot of confusion over the two sharks but that was definitely a great white. It has completely different eyes and the tail and dorsal fin are a lot thicker for the size of the animal."
Source: Read Full Article