Hammerhead Shark Weighing 1,000 Pounds Caught by Southern Texas Fishermen in 'Long Battle'

A hammerhead shark weighing 1,000 pounds was caught by fishermen in southern Texas during a "long battle" last week, according to local reports. The anglers spent almost 90 minutes last Friday, May 5, attempting to pull the shark, measuring 14 feet and 4 inches long, in their boat. The size of the recent catch likely surpassed a similar shark species in Texas back in 2018.

Hammerhead sharks are only one of the several shark species in Texas waters, which also include blacktip sharks, bull sharks, bonnethead sharks, and spinner sharks. While catching different sharks are common, capturing giant sharks are rare. This is because there are a total of 40 shark species reportedly found in Texas waters off the Gulf of Mexico.

Southern Texas Shark Catch

(Photo : Photo by PABLO COZZAGLIO/AFP via Getty Images)
A baby hammerhead shark swims after being released by the Galapagos National Park research team where a shark nursery was discovered along the coast of Santa Cruz Island in Galapagos, Ecuador, on January 21, 2018. - A group of Ecuadorean scientists discovered a hammerhead shark nursery last November in the Galapagos Islands. The hammerhead shark is an endangered species due to poaching and because of their slow growth, low reproduction rates and late onset of sexual maturity.

One of the fishermen named, Glenn Laskowski, told local news KIII that "it was a battle" while they were catching the large shark, which they were able to land and see its true size. Afterward, they dehooked the fish and took some pictures of it before releasing the fish into the sea again, Newsweek reported. They uploaded the photos of the marine animal on Facebook.

In particular, the catch occurred off the water of JP Luby Beach on Padre Island, where Laskowski and his friend took their kids fishing using a 20-pound cownose stingray as a bait. After waiting two hours, the hammerhead shark finally took their bait, KIII reported.

Catching hammerhead sharks in Texas is legal and this is despite the predators being classified as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) on its 'Red List of Threatened Species,' according to Newsweek.

Also Read: Shark With 300 Teeth That Has Been on the Planet for 80 Million Years Is Captured in Portugal

Texas Shark Population

Texas has a healthy shark population, according to Dr. Kesley Banks of the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, as cited by the Texas local news outlet. In fact, shark population in Texas waters has been increasing in recent years.

In 2019, scientists said the number of sharks are increasing off the Texas coast, News 4 San Antonio reported. The booming shark population comes despite fishermen in the past reported of catching large sharks along Texas beaches.

Shark Conservation Measures

In a local level, Texas authorities are reportedly implementing an effective shark conservation measure, including limitation on fishing for sharks.

According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD), Texas angers are only allowed to catch one shark per person on a daily basis with a maximum possession limit of two sharks, based on regulations as of July 2016.

In addition to the said measure, the TPWD also provided a list below of some prohibited shark species that must not be retained and must be released immediately should an angler catch them: