This time the 12ft female shark was pregnant. During the two hour fight with fisherman Devon Fritch, the shark was bitten by another shark. When the shark was dragged to shore Ashley Travis, who filmed he event, could see the pups.
It happened last weekend at Sharky’s Pier near Sarasota, Florida.
She told Newsday by phone “Out of the bite mark we could see the little babies, the little pups, we could see them moving around inside of her.” She went on to say “We can’t let these babies die,” as the group decided to save the pups.
Noe Campos then dug into the shark, going shoulder deep to pull out the pups. A total of 20 were released back into the ocean.
Travis was quoted saying “It was life changing, I’ve never seen anything giving birth before.” Although I’m not sure this would count as actually giving birth.
Since Hammerhead sharks are susceptible to delayed mortality, its possibly the pups could have died if the mother had been released alive. Our friend Marine Biologist David Shiffman said earlier this year at a 2hour fight time, hammerheads are almost certainly dead.
What do think? Great Hammerheads are a protected species and some believe if they are pulled out of the water the fisherman should be charged. How can a fisherman know what he or she has on the line? Post your thoughts in the comments.
Above video from thechron.com
