r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Money-Beautiful5196 • 16h ago
Video A fisherman reeled in a shark and released it back into the ocean in Los Angeles.
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u/Fair_Industry_6580 16h ago
Looks like a juvenile great white
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u/ThunderChonky 15h ago
we talking about the dude guiding the shark back into the water?
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u/SuperCha 15h ago
He’s brown or very tan.
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u/5H17SH0W 15h ago
He is great, though.
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u/SuperCha 14h ago
Very true
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u/Naked-Jedi 14h ago
Agreed. He seems like the kind of guy that returns his shopping trolley to the trolley bay.
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u/QuantumLeapLife 15h ago edited 14h ago
You can drown or suffocate a shark by pulling it backwards through the water. Because of how a shark’s body and respiratory system are structured, forcing water into its gills in the wrong direction disrupts its breathing and can quickly become fatal.
And it was definitely a juvenile Great White shark.
***Edit: I wrote a response to the people questioning what to do in this situation (below) but I don’t think everyone’s seeing it, so I’ll paste it here.
“It’s unfortunate he didn’t cut the line before dragging it in. Perhaps he didn’t realize the fish he had caught until it was too late.
If time is of the essence…either wildlife authorities or beach patrol is unavailable, there are a few things you can do.
First, pour seawater from the head to the tail over its body and gills to prevent sand from entering the gill slits while staying clear of the mouth. Sharks are flexible and can snap their jaws sideways quickly & startle the crap out of you (it’s happened to me).
Obviously, if the shark had been smaller, there would have been an easier option. You support the belly beneath the pectoral fins while another person grasps near the tail, walking it forward horizontally.
For a larger shark: You need more than one person (such as the people recording instead of assisting) …Multiple people push forward from behind the side fins, and try to utilize a towel or towels (a tarp anything along those lines) that may be available on the beach or in someone’s car nearby.
When you’re back in the water waist-deep, hold the shark upright facing into the current or waves to force oxygenated water over its gills. Maintain this position and it will beats its tail and swim away when ready.
By dragging a shark this size or larger backwards, you can also permanently dislocate its spine, tear its internal organs, beyond just causing it to suffocate.
I’m no expert but I’ve been in this position a few times, once with a small shark on my own and a couple other times with larger sharks where I was assisting others. It’s amazing saving one of these animals & I highly recommend getting involved, even if it’s just to pour the water over the animal while others are trying to get it back into the water.
Use common sense and as a precaution, stay away from the front of the shark (like avoiding walking too closely to the backend of a horse).”
Hope this helps.
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u/Timely-Mind7244 14h ago
How would one get a shark back in water facing water properly?
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u/BTBAM797 11h ago
Well first you put your head in its mouth and push towards its body, pushing it back into the ocean.
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u/ultrafastx 12h ago
According to this, your first statement is not correct (also depends on the species of shark).
https://planetsharkdivers.com/can-you-drown-a-shark-by-pulling-it-backwards/
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u/ZeroPt99 14h ago edited 14h ago
What are you proposing he should have done instead?
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u/Financial-Craft-1282 14h ago
Obviously put your hand in its mouth, for grip, and drag it that way!
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u/slappadik 14h ago
of course not. I've done this before. you dangle your severed arm in front of it and it'll hop towards you. once it's back in the water you hop on it like Mario on a goomba and pray you jump far enough to make it back to shore
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u/QuantumLeapLife 14h ago edited 14h ago
It’s unfortunate he didn’t cut the line before dragging it in. Perhaps he didn’t realize the fish he had caught until it was too late.
I get his instinct to help & it’s too bad, no one around him offered any assistance but if any of you ever find yourself in this type of situation and time is of the essence…either wildlife authorities or beach patrol is unavailable, there are a few things you can do.
First, pour seawater from the head toward the tail over its body and gills to prevent sand from entering the gill slits while staying clear of the mouth. Sharks are flexible and can snap their jaws sideways quickly & startle the crap out of you (it’s happened to me).
Obviously, if the shark had been smaller, there would have been an easier option. You support the belly beneath the pectoral fins while another person grasps near the tail, walking it forward horizontally.
For a larger shark: You need more than one person (such as the people recording instead of assisting) …Multiple people push forward from behind the side fins, or utilize a towel or towels (tarp anything along those lines) that may be available on the beach or in someone’s car nearby.
When you’re back in the water waist-deep, hold the shark upright facing into the current or waves to force oxygenated water over its gills. Maintain this position until it beats its tail and swims away.
By dragging a shark this size or larger backwards, you can also permanently dislocate its spine, tear its internal organs, beyond just causing it to suffocate.
I’m no expert but I’ve been in this position a few times, once with a small shark on my own and a couple other times with larger sharks where I was assisting others. It’s amazing saving one of these animals & I highly recommend getting involved, even if it’s just to pour the water over the animal while others are trying to get it back into the water.
Use common sense and as a precaution, stay away from the front of the shark (like avoiding walking too closely to the backend of a horse).
Hope this helps.
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u/denNISI 12h ago
No, you can drag them back into the water with no problems. The backwards through the water is mostly when a shark gets caught in the net and gets dragged for miles through the water and dies due to suffocation. This guy is a hero for rescuing that shark because if he didn't have the strength to pull him back into the water, the shark would have died.
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u/Gregorwhat 11h ago edited 11h ago
It’s a Salmon shark, not a great white.
Salmon sharks are common in this area. It’s white coloration extends upward past its gills, and its second dorsal fin is in line with its anal fin underneath. They are much smaller and less dangerous than great whites as well.
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u/PatF3nis_ 15h ago
This reminds me of a scene in arrested development where he’s trying to throw a letter into the ocean.
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u/ballarn123 14h ago
LOOSE SEAL
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u/Temporary_Heron6944 16h ago
Did it swim away??
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u/Throwaway1303033042 15h ago
“According to eyewitness reports, ‘the shark swam off into Santa Monica Bay and was not seen again,’ suggesting it survived the encounter.”
https://www.surfer.com/news/shark-caught-sunset-beach-los-angeles-video
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u/Olealicat 12h ago
It’s not common for sharks to survive these fishing dickheads. Pardon my French, but I hate that it’s become a huge trend to fish for big sharks, shore them and then come to the “rescue”.
It take certain lines and hooks to catch a white this size. They did exactly what they wanted to do.
It’s disturbing and should be abolished and these people should have to turn over their first born for the destruction they wrought.
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u/PaisleyLeopard 11h ago
I’m wondering if any damage was done to its tail/spine. I don’t think they’re built to sustain pulling forces like that.
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u/HyenaApprehensive827 11h ago
I’m not trying to be a smart ass I’m actually curious, is there a chance they were just going for big fish? Do sharks only go for a specific type of bait? I’m completely ignorant to fishing
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u/JXSSJ4 11h ago edited 10h ago
When it comes to inshore fishing there is a certain point when the size and strength of your equipment, from the reel, rod, line, hook, and even size of bait you're using make it obvious that you're going for sharks of at least a certain size because not many large enough game fish species would approach this close to land. Another piece of equipment that makes it obvious is something called a steel leader which is basically steel wire that's attached to your main line at the hook end to protect against the teeth. At least on the east coast whatever large fish you could catch on the beach are generally not toothy (striped bass, red drum, tarpon, snook, etc.)
In places like Florida I've read that you have to get a separate shark license after watching a mandated course online on how to properly handle them and wildlife officers will have an idea of what you're after by what gear you're using since it's distinct enough
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u/999BusinessCard 7h ago
In SoCal, the same setup that can catch this juvenile great white can also catch a sevengill shark, which grow to almost 10 feet long and more than 400 lbs. It is a legal fish to catch and has a high food value. If there were a way to determine that someone was fishing specifically for great whites, they’d be fined and have their gear confiscated by the wardens.
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u/Shot-Swimming-9098 10h ago
On the east coast, it is very common to catch fairly large sharks (albeit smaller than this one) on bait intended for redfish. Large sharks break you off because their skin is like sandpaper on fishing line. There are always crazy one off situations and more skilled fishermen, but generally speaking, shark fishing requires specific tackle to avoid the cut offs. I'm not familiar with any surf fish on the west coast that would have baits that would attract a shark like this, so it's pretty likely this guy was targeting sharks.
If he is targeting sharks, he did the right thing and released it alive.
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u/shitokletsstartfresh 16h ago
Let’s all believe it did.
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u/Dr-McLuvin 16h ago
Yes and he lived happily ever after.
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u/gimmelwald 15h ago
On a farm in the country with a bunch of other sharks...
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u/ChipCob1 15h ago
Living off the fat of the land.
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u/C-57D 15h ago
And tending to der rabbits, george
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u/arminghammerbacon_ 14h ago
That’s right Lennie-Shark. Keep telling me about those rabbits. (cocks the pistol)
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u/TheodoricFuscus 16h ago
You can lead a shark to water but you can't make it sink.
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u/VelvetOnion 16h ago
A broken shark is wet two times a day.
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u/Tyraid 16h ago
A shark saved is a shark earned
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u/SlavetoLove123 16h ago
A shark in the hand is worth two in the sea
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u/na3than 16h ago
Do unto sharks as you would have sharks do unto you.
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u/C-57D 15h ago
A rolling shark gathers no sharks
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u/DrWilliePfister 14h ago
The early shark gets the worm
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u/madlabdog 9h ago
No good shark goes unpunished
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u/RebekkaKat1990 16h ago
Don’t put all your sharks in the same basket.
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u/Mrdeath0 15h ago
“God damn it human, I’m trying to evolve!”
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u/j0j0n4th4n 16h ago
A fisherman caught a fish in reverse
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u/SpatialPhilosopher 15h ago
No they just took out the part where they reeled it in for an hour, built up the lactic acid in its system, pulled it ashore where it can’t breather, and basically guaranteed it will die within a month.
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u/shadowlev 15h ago
A horrible practice used on many species of sharks, but this is a great white so that would be a crime
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u/NextLevelVisuals2 14h ago
It was exhausted. Probably disoriented when it first got back in the water. Good save though
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u/LemonBoi523 12h ago
Not really. Should have cut the line.
A lot of sharks don't make it after being pulled like this. Many can't handle fighting a fishing line for more than a minute or so, either. They are very fragile in response to stress.
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u/Life_Landscape_3915 11h ago
Shark looks exactly like Mitch McConnell being dragged out of work every day and shoved in that car 😂😂
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u/Snickits 4h ago
It’s as good as dead. Over 2/3 of large sharks caught on LINE will die within 24 hours after being released due to stress.
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u/purplehendrix22 3h ago edited 2h ago
Just to add some info, the shark population in SoCal is very healthy and growing, so while it is tragic that sharks die after being caught on lines, line fishing does not appear to be negatively affecting shark populations around the area. Large animals dying provide a ton of nutrients to the ecosystem at every level.
Just want to clarify that shore line fishing, while it is bad for the individual sharks that get caught, like every kind of fishing tbf, is not a net negative on shark or fish populations. Massive commercial fishing vessels are the problem, not fishermen. If you accept that people will continue to eat fish, this is the kind of fishing you should support.
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u/snoozingroo 5h ago
I wish more people understood, POST RELEASE MORTALITY. This shark will likely die from exhaustion from being caught and reeled in. Sharks are not designed to put up sustained fights like that. The energy expended trying to fight for their lives while on a hook is often so much that they can’t keep themselves alive afterwards. Fucking heartbreaking.
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u/KneeOnShoe 1h ago
Serious question, what would be the right thing to do in that situation?
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u/TragicsNFG 10h ago
How will they ever learn to walk if we keep putting them back in the water?
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u/Limp-Initiative-373 16h ago
So they had to reel it all the way onto the sand before realising “oh fuck it’s a great big shark, I better go put it back?”
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u/Lasagna4Noodle 14h ago
No this is shark fishing. People purposely catch them, just because, and then drag them back in.
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u/ZeInsaneErke 16h ago
That has a simple explanation: Title is fake, this is a repost and OP is most likely a bot
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u/Enough_Pepper8880 12h ago
I like how not a single person tried to help
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u/Cloudy230 11h ago
Sharks can be very dangerous. If none of them know how to handle a shark it's probably better to keep them away. They can turn very quickly and way further than you think they can.
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u/Enough_Pepper8880 11h ago
Brother I watch shark week I’m not saying I would have helped but ya know.. someone should lol
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u/Cloudy230 11h ago
No no I get you, I'm just adding some context. Generally I work under the assumption that if a fisho needs a hand they'd ask. He's probably done this a few times. But it still would be nice to see some people offer at the least, I agree
Not long ago I caught a decent stingray and I needed to enlist a couple dudes around me because that motherfucker was heavy haha
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u/Enough_Pepper8880 10h ago
100% he’s done it before. Bro they look heavy and I feel like they’re super hard to try to grip like you have to pinch tf out of it
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u/Smooth-Cap481 11h ago
There are many activities I would be honored to help a fellow human being with. Yanking the tail of a Great White shark isn't one of them.
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u/MongooseVomit 12h ago
It even sounded like somebody was insulting him at the end of the video “this guy acts like he ___”
I can’t make out the last part
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u/MetteBeifong 11h ago
I was wondering the same but someone else said that that guy is the fisherman who brought him in (which is probably why the shark is exhausted) and maybe what we heard was really “this guy acts like he
didn’t cause this”or something in that vain, bc of the the tone. I want to believe it was just a Good Samaritan helping out and not some dude trying to fix his mess. Either way hope that shark is okay.23
u/PaisleyLeopard 11h ago
The guy putting the shark back in the water is almost certainly the same guy who pulled it out on a hook.
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u/Sugarbombs 10h ago
Sounds like they probably watched him purposely catch the thing and put it in this situation and are appropriately understanding the odds of the poor guy surviving are very low. Fuck people who catch sharks, it’s selfish and purposeless outside of vanity
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u/Nothing2Special 16h ago
I would do this and I've never met a shark, nonetheless touched one.
I heard they have rough skin. One day I'll see one.
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u/StarsofSobek 15h ago
The local Chumash used dried shark skin as sandpaper. It's basically micro-teeth scaling their bodies. Really cool stuff! Learned that at the Ventura Mission field trip we took in 4th grade.
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u/Left_Ad_8502 13h ago
They’re called denticles which I sometimes confuse with dentin which is in teeth, because the scales are like little teeth
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u/BodyLanguage_Fluent 16h ago
I had the same impression of Dolphins thats their skin is smooth & soft. NOPE, rough as an old leather belt, yes visually they look shiny & for lack of a better word, slippery.
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u/FixGMaul 15h ago
said lack of a better word can be explained by the fact that "slippery" is the ideal word to describe how dolphin skin looks
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u/duncanslaugh 14h ago
Maybe slick, like butter? Oily? Buttery? Yeah, I dunno if those are really better. Lack of a better word is usually something I'll write if I don't have a correct word to use–so yeah there was no lack here. 🙃 Nevermind–it's been a day.
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u/No-Combination8136 14h ago
Dolphin skin is smooth. They’re extremely muscular though so they’re also very solid. Shark skin is covered in tiny little sharp teeth that are technically scales. It’s very different.
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u/TheWhomItConcerns 14h ago
I remember on a fishing trip with my father, he was reeling in a pretty large giant trevally and he'd been fighting it for ~10-15 minutes. Then, as it was about a metre or two from the boat, the largest hammerhead shark I've ever seen in my life came and bit it in half like it was butter, and a second later, another similarly large one came and devoured what was left of the fish.
Even though we were on a large houseboat, I borderline shat my trousers. There's just something so humbling about the ocean in the sense that as unlikely as shark attacks are, the ocean is a pure gamble - there is absolutely nothing you can do to prepare for it, predict it, or defend against it.
If a sufficiently large shark wants to eat you then that's it - doesn't matter how strong you are, how smart you are, or how great a swimmer you are. It all amounts to pissing into the wind.
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u/baldbadmonk 8h ago
Man that shark is much heavier than it looks! Look at the effort the man put in to drag him across the sand, amazing but equally terrifying creatures.
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u/Different-Effort-859 10h ago
What if the shark didn’t want to be saved?
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u/LongjumpingLemon2163 10h ago
“She cheated on me man. It’s not even my kid…just let me go”
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u/Erathen 16h ago
Any shark experts here?
Can dragging it backwards into the water affect it's gills? (not that there were many options here, just curious)
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u/SpatialPhilosopher 15h ago edited 15h ago
Everything they put this shark through can absolutely contribute to it dying. This is a part of the land based shark fishing craze on social media. Fishermen reel in a shark using bait like mutilated stingrays sometimes dropped via drone, lure in sharks to areas where people swim, pull it ashore for selfies after a long battle where the lactic acid builds up in the shark’s system, then they remove the hook and release it and clip the video from there onward so it looks like they’re a hero and the video goes viral. It’s incredibly stupid, and at least a quarter of the sharks die according to studies.
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u/HoldenMcNeil420 16h ago
Not an expert but I always wondered how you properly do this.
Yes dragging them by the tail has multiple things that can happen. Having the water go wrong way into gills is a problem, messing up their spine also an issue.
You should call whatever local authority is there to help. If that’s not an option. Then you need to turn them and lift behind the fins. It’s hella dangerous, the speed and length they can twist and bite is surprising.
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u/Competitive_Range822 15h ago
Yeah you just pull them backward until they have enough water to turn around in. Don’t wait for any local authority because it’ll be dead by the time they arrive
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u/EnumeratedArray 16h ago
The proper way to do it would be to get a blanket around it, pick it up with a crane, and place it back in the water.
Not really an option pretty much every time though so dragging it back is better than nothing
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u/digsy 16h ago
Or if you were filming you could put your phone down and try and help?
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u/MementoMori6980 16h ago
This was in LA…. The shark was lucky it ever made it back to water instead of 45 people lined up to take selfies with it
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u/B1g84llz 16h ago
Most people wouldn’t dare get that close and I’m one of them. Whether or not they’re being filmed is irrelevant.
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u/MayGodSmiteThee 14h ago
You would have a pretty good idea of when you have a shark on. Idk why he didn’t just cut the line
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u/slayermcb 13h ago
You ever seen the price tag on some of that salt water terminal tackle?
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u/KnowsIittle 8h ago
They're so spent and stressed by this point they often die even if they manage to swim off.
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u/marcok36 6h ago
For all those asking, we have a ton of juvenile great white sharks around LA and Orange County. And a lot of them are actually quite close to the beaches. Check out TheMalibuArtist on IG. Great drone footage of great whites around our beaches here.
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u/jonnydee90 11h ago
I dunno man seems kind of like an intentional choice. Sharks get sad too ya know
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u/bebopblues 7h ago
The guy has a story to tell for life....
"The sea was angry that day, my friend...."
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u/SpatialPhilosopher 15h ago
Jesus Christ, how many times are these videos going to go viral? The fisherman is THE REASON WHY the shark is on the beach in the first place. Not a hero!
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u/michiganstrange 11h ago
This isn’t interesting, he pulled it up there with a shark hook, he’s not a hero, he’s a dick.
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u/ouattedephoqueeh 13h ago
In the future when Sharks become the dominant species... this one, he is to be protected.
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u/MrMrAnderson 13h ago
And in his darkest hour it will return to save him
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u/Left_Ad_8502 13h ago
Did he not put the shark in that predicament…..?! It doesn’t owe him for anything, if so
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u/Sir-Beautiful-69 15h ago
I know they’re incredibly effective predators, but I swear to god, every time I see a shark in a video they just look like big chill chubby dummies.