Massive One Ton Great White Shark Caught In Russian Far East

Fisherman in Eastern Russia recently landed a massive great white shark, and a video of the one ton apex predator being dragged from the surf has made its way to YouTube.

The great white was caught off Cape Crillon, at the southern tip of the island of Sakhalin, according to Shark Attack News. Fishermen found the massive shark tangled in their nets, approximately 300 meters from the beach. The great white was brought to shore, where heavy equipment was utilized to pull the shark out of the surf. Measuring 5 meters in length, the animal was a mature adult, as Shark Year Magazine notes.

While sharks are no strangers to Sakhalin Island, located in the Northern Pacific Ocean, sightings of great whites remain rare. In 2007, an employee of a commercial fishing company spotted a great white near the shore of Anivsky bay, according to Russia IC. As the shark chased a seal, the man noted the great white’s fin rising from the water. He reported that the seal was eventually caught in a net and eaten by the shark, which ripped a 3×3 meter hole to reach its prey. The amount of damage done to the net was cited as evidence that the great white involved was an unusually large specimen.

In September of 2011, another five-meter-long white shark was reportedly caught off Primorye, and an image depicting a man sitting atop the shark circulated online, according to Shark Year Magazine. Scientists quickly refuted the claim, however, noting that while the photo did show a great white, the shark in question was actually caught in 2007, near Sakhalin Island. Vladimir Zemnukhov, a researcher at the Ichthyology Laboratory of FEB of Russia’s Academy of Sciences, noted that the image was altered.

“This photograph was in fact made in Sakhalin Island four years ago, it is a well-known photo,” he said. “The white shark was then caught in a net or a trap.”

Crew member Chloe captured this Great White Shark on her #gopro on Sunday’s charter! #sharkdiving pic.twitter.com/SRf09w6QS5

— Calypso Star Charter (@sharkcagediving) October 15, 2014

Despite the specimens caught at Sakhalin, white sharks remain a protected species. Earlier this year, a program was proposed in Western Australia to safeguard beaches using baited drumlines. Following an international outcry, the program was cancelled, as the state’s EPA cited an uncertain impact on great whites. As The Inquisitr noted, a three-month-long trial of the program showed that the drumlines disproportionally affected large great white sharks.

[Images via Shark Attack News]