I found this article posted on the Tampa fishing forum:
Link: http://www.tampabaycharter.com/members/forums/thread-153-1.asp
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Excerpt:
TARPON SPRINGS January 26, 2007- John Pepe knew something was different when he saw the 12-foot shark come out of the water with a 50-pound black drum in its mouth."I've never seen anything like it," Pepe said. "And I have been fishing in the gulf a long time." Pepe and some friends were tending stone crab traps in 13 feet of water near Anclote Key about a mile off the beach in early January when they saw a commotion about 100 yards away."There were these huge schools of black and red drum," Pepe said. "We were catching a few, then we saw a lot of splashing." Pepe motored over in his 20-foot bay boat and spotted a large, thick-bodied shark. "It stopped, came right over to our boat and nudged the propeller," he said. "It was as if it was checking to see if it would be good to eat."
Pepe knew the fish was too big for a bull shark, so he grabbed a disposable camera and took a few pictures. He shared the photographs with neighbor Ed Walker, a local charter boat captain and spearfisherman. Walker sent them to two of the state's top shark experts: Bob Hueter of Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota and George Burgess of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.
"The photos are not definitive, but my best call is that it was a great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias," Burgess wrote in an e-mail. "Whites get into Florida waters at this time of year, although they are rare in the gulf as far north as Tarpon Springs....
Every winter, from Palm Beach south and all the way up to Clearwater, two or three great white sharks get caught on commercial boats. Down in the Florida Keys, great whites may come to within a few miles of the reef but seldom venture within 20 miles of shore.
In 2000, scientists had the opportunity to study great white sharks caught incidentally by commercial long liners. Seven sharks were examined, all caught from January to April, when water temperatures were below 57 degrees. No sharks were caught during warmer months, even with more commercial long liners operating.
One 9-foot great white shark was caught in 35 feet of water about 10 miles off Bayport. Another shark of similar size was caught in 80 feet of water about 25 miles off Fort Myers.
Of the seven sharks examined, the largest was 15 feet, 9 inches and weighed 2,196 pounds. Sharks that large feed on just about anything they want, including other sharks.
The stomach of the largest male contained the remains of a shark estimated to be 8 feet long. The largest female's stomach contained the remains of a 5-foot long porpoise.
Link: http://www.tampabaycharter.com/members/forums/thread-153-1.asp
Excerpt:
TARPON SPRINGS January 26, 2007- John Pepe knew something was different when he saw the 12-foot shark come out of the water with a 50-pound black drum in its mouth."I've never seen anything like it," Pepe said. "And I have been fishing in the gulf a long time." Pepe and some friends were tending stone crab traps in 13 feet of water near Anclote Key about a mile off the beach in early January when they saw a commotion about 100 yards away."There were these huge schools of black and red drum," Pepe said. "We were catching a few, then we saw a lot of splashing." Pepe motored over in his 20-foot bay boat and spotted a large, thick-bodied shark. "It stopped, came right over to our boat and nudged the propeller," he said. "It was as if it was checking to see if it would be good to eat."
Pepe knew the fish was too big for a bull shark, so he grabbed a disposable camera and took a few pictures. He shared the photographs with neighbor Ed Walker, a local charter boat captain and spearfisherman. Walker sent them to two of the state's top shark experts: Bob Hueter of Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota and George Burgess of the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.
"The photos are not definitive, but my best call is that it was a great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias," Burgess wrote in an e-mail. "Whites get into Florida waters at this time of year, although they are rare in the gulf as far north as Tarpon Springs....
Every winter, from Palm Beach south and all the way up to Clearwater, two or three great white sharks get caught on commercial boats. Down in the Florida Keys, great whites may come to within a few miles of the reef but seldom venture within 20 miles of shore.
In 2000, scientists had the opportunity to study great white sharks caught incidentally by commercial long liners. Seven sharks were examined, all caught from January to April, when water temperatures were below 57 degrees. No sharks were caught during warmer months, even with more commercial long liners operating.
One 9-foot great white shark was caught in 35 feet of water about 10 miles off Bayport. Another shark of similar size was caught in 80 feet of water about 25 miles off Fort Myers.
Of the seven sharks examined, the largest was 15 feet, 9 inches and weighed 2,196 pounds. Sharks that large feed on just about anything they want, including other sharks.
The stomach of the largest male contained the remains of a shark estimated to be 8 feet long. The largest female's stomach contained the remains of a 5-foot long porpoise.
