ARTICLE:
Family's Florida Fishing Trip Turns Epic with 10-Foot Great White Catch
A Massachusetts family's fishing trip off Fort Lauderdale turned into the catch of a lifetime Monday when they reeled in a 10-foot great white shark about a mile offshore.
The group was aboard a charter with Fishing Headquarters when the massive shark took the line, sparking a lengthy and exhausting fight.
"I got in the chair first and it tuckered me out so my dad had to come in and I finished it out," said Donovan Smith, who was visiting South Florida from Reading, Massachusetts. "My arms are super tired, it was a crazy fight, probably the craziest moment I've ever had."
Donovan and his father, Judd Smith, worked together to bring in the shark, not realizing what they had hooked until it neared the boat.
"We didn't know what we had until we were reeling it in, it took forever to reel in, it was huge," Judd Smith said.
The rare catch was also a first for the boat's mate.
"It was absolutely amazing, I've been fishing here for 7 years and I've never caught one," said mate Logan Graf.
Captain Paul Paolucci, who has been with the company for more than two decades, said great white encounters are uncommon but not unheard of.
"Since 2003 I've caught 6," Paolucci said.
Why great white sightings happen off South Florida
Experts say while rare, great white sharks do appear off South Florida's coast, particularly during cooler months.
"We know that they're present off of our coasts especially in the cooler months of the year," said Catherine Macdonald, director of the University of Miami's shark research and conservation program.
Macdonald added that great whites tend to avoid shallow waters, meaning beachgoers typically aren't at risk.
"The data is showing that white sharks are increasing in numbers off the east coast of the United States and Canada and that's a great sign for population recovery overall, but we're not necessarily seeing more so much as noticing them more," she said.
Shark released after rare catch
Because great white sharks are a protected species, the crew released the animal after bringing it alongside the boat.
For the Smith family, the experience is one they won't soon forget.
"It's one of the best moments of my life," Donovan Smith said.
