Men Who Caught 926-Pound, 12-Foot Shark Won’t Be Named Record Holders

Although a 926-pound Mako shark caught off the coast of New Jersey is the largest fish caught in the state on record, it will not be recognized as such because of a slight technicality. Because it took more than one fisherman to catch the shark – it took six, to be exact – the haul will not be recognized as a state record.

The 12-foot-long shark was reeled in about 100 miles off the New Jersey shore in the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday.

The record remains in the hands of a man who caught a 880-pound tiger shark in 1988. 

The Division of Fish and Wildlife claims that state records can only be applied for if the angler swears that he or she caught the fish without anyone’s help.

Still, the feat carried out by the Jenny Lee charter boat, a 44-foot long boat, is not going unrecognized.

Because it took nearly three hours to reel in the shark and get it into the boat, multiple fisherman handled the rod.

“We passed the rod off. To be a record, only one fisherman can handle the rod,” Dave Bender, captain and owner of the charter boat told USA Today. “Still a great catch, though. You can’t lose sight of that.”

“We know that we caught the biggest shark ever in New Jersey. We know that we broke the state record.”

The giant shark was caught when it went after a tuna and squid hooked at the end of the line. It was so strong that it broke a piece of the fiberglass rod used to catch it.

The six men responsible for catching the shark have divided up its remains and are putting together a party to celebrate the catch and taste the fish.

The largest mako shark officially caught by rod and reel on record was a 1,300 pound beast caught off the coast of North Carolina in 2013.