A video of a large tiger shark scavenging a hammerhead shark has been shared online.
Jack Bates was paddleboarding July 14 when he came across a commotion in the ocean off Juno Beach.
The Jupiter-raised photographer placed his camera underwater and caught a tiger shark feasting on a dead hammerhead.
Tiger sharks are known as the trash cans of the sea and have been found with tires, metal and even car licenses plates, just as portrayed in the movie Jaws, in their stomachs.
Bates shared several shots of the tiger doing a great job of cleaning up the ocean.
Unfortunately, the hammerhead appears to have died after being caught by fisherman.
DayMaker Charters, a local charter company, spotted what looked to be the freshly dead hammerhead carcass floating offshore and theorized the shark may have died after being caught. In response to seeing the photos, a local angler reported some out of town fisherman had caught the shark on July 11.
Hammerheads are prone to delayed mortality and are at serious risk of dying after enduring extended fight times on fishing lines. Several hammerhead species are protected in Florida and anglers are required to release the shark without delay.
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “If hook removal will delay release, cut the hook or the leader as close to the hook as possible. A device capable of cutting the hook or leader such as bolt or cable cutters is required gear when fishing for sharks from shore.”
Additional regulations state: “Do not bring prohibited species onto a fishing vessel, a pier or bridge or onto dry land beyond the surf zone . . . Prohibited shark species remain in the water with the gills submerged when fishing from shore or from a vessel . . . leave the gills submerged when removing fishing gear.”
In an Instagram post Dr. Neil Hammerschlag said, “the hammerhead had unfortunately died, likely from an interaction with fishing (based on other evidence, including the shark being washed up on shore days prior with hooks in its mouth).”
Hammerschlag is a research associate professor at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy. “ . . . In the ocean, nothing goes to waste,” he said.
Regardless of the cause of death, the tiger shark cleaned up a large part of the hammerhead carcass, an important illustration of sharks and ocean health.
