A rare Porbeagle Shark weighing in at 300 pounds and seven feet was caught and released off the coast of Cork.
Connor O'Reilly of Shannonvale was fishing in the waters of West Cork last week when he caught quite the surprise: the biggest Porbeagle Shark seen in the area in quite some time.
He caught and released the impressive creature, a species of mackerel shark, which weighed 300 pounds.
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Porbeagle Sharks are often mistaken for Great Whites due to their size, Cork Beo reported. They are a rare sight in Irish waters but are believed to be making a resurgence due to a ban on commercial fishing for them.
David Edwards of West Cork Charters wrote on Facebook that it was the "biggest we have seen in our area."
"These sharks have been making a comeback in West Cork waters since the total ban on commercial fishing for them. This one was approximately 7 feet long and is by far the biggest we have seen in our area for many years," he posted.
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He later shared that O'Reilly was awarded Ireland's Fish of the Week.
Though Porbeagles bear some resemblance to Great Whites, they do not pose a threat to humans, preying mainly on cephalopods and bony fish. There have only been three bite incidents evet attributed to Porbeagles - two of them while the sharks were aboard fishing boats, and none of them fatal.
Recently, a 25-foot basking shark was spotted in Keem Bay near Achill Island. Despite their large size, Basking Sharks are non-aggressive and also do not pose a threat to humans.
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