Shark!
Yesterday a huge PORBEAGLE shark was caught by the Star Devine, just off our coast.
The huge fish – also known as a mackerel shark – is over SEVEN feet long, and took 4 strong men to lift… Robert Latimer said “we haven’t managed to weigh it – but you can still have a guess at the weight of the shark!”
“The Shark could have been hunting the wild salmon and sea trout which are migrating to their home rivers at this time of year, they defiantly would have been devouring our mackerel shoals too – which are right in season at the minute” Robert Latimer said.
Robert is quick to point out that the shark was dead when it was hauled onto the Star Devine, or else the fishermen would have returned it to the sea, He adds “we are totally against discarding any fish – this shark was dead when it was hauled on board, or else we would not have taken it, as it should have been returned alive to the sea.” He adds that it would have been completely unethical to have killed the shark – as they are listed as vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
Porbeagle sharks catches over the last 30-40 years thankfully have declined in our waters perhaps as they are not caught up in the fishing nets as much, Robert thinks that nowadays only a few are caught off our coast. Robert Latimer is stern on his stance of protecting our fish and waters – but he also is stern regarding the act of discard, he strongly believes it would have been just as immoral to have thrown the dead mackerel shark back to sea.
So bearing all that in mind, a Porbeagle Shark will be in the counter this weekend – just in time for the rearranged Whitburn Festival which had to be cancelled in June due to the weather.
Robert said he “will be selling off shark fillets in the shop counter as soon as we can find a knife big enough to fillet it!”. Flake (as shark fillets are known) is great on the barbeque or grilled and in Australia Flake and Chips is the most common item on a Fish and Chip shop menu!
