LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, FLA. (WSVN) - A man was caught on cellphone video capturing a shark and dragging it ashore on a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea beach.
The incident occurred near Anglin’s Fishing Pier, along Commercial Boulevard, Tuesday afternoon.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials believe the shark is a blacktip shark, which is legal to catch and eat, and the animal’s skin and fins are valuable to some.
Alex Frimerman was the person who took video of the incident.
“I thought it was an accidental catch. It was going to be a catch and release,” he said.
The young man in the video was seen taking the hook out of the shark’s mouth and ignoring witness’ requests for him to toss it back into the ocean.
“You got the hook out? Let him go,” Frimerman said.
“Nah, we’re killing it,” the man said in response.
Frimerman asked, “Wait, no, are you serious?”
“Yeah, we’re going to eat it,” the man said.
The video shows the young man dragging the shark in the sand as another man gives him a high-five. Several beachgoers could also be seen in the video standing by watching.
With multiple children hovered around the animal, Frimerman said he was hoping for a different experience, such as an up-close look at the shark and it swimming away.
“I mean, look, a lot of people say they’re going to kill it to eat it, but if you’ve ever eaten a shark, I hear it doesn’t taste very good,” Frimerman said. “Like, there’s a bunch of kids around all these people, and the kids were excited. It looked like it was going to be an educational thing for them, and this guy was just like, ‘No, we’re going to kill it.'”
Frimerman, who frequently snorkels near the pier, said he sees a lot sharks in the area.
“They’re so gentle,” he said. “They’re majestic creatures, and it just broke my heart to see him not only kill it but also to see all these people that had gathered around.”
Although most sharks are protected, blacktip sharks are not, but Frimerman added there was a learning opportunity at the beach.
“We need to educate them and get them excited, which looked like what it’s going to be, and then, it just kind of turned dark after that,” he said. “It just broke my heart, man.”
For a list on which sharks are protected and which are not, click here to go to FWC’s information page.
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