A catch that allegedly started as an innocent mistake may put a local fisherman in jeopardy. On the morning of June 2, Michael Davidson of Frankford returned to the North Shore Marina at Indian River in his 33-foot Wellcraft, “Little One,” with a 66-inch-long, 179-pound shark, which, according to his accounts, he believed to be a mako.
Testing, however confirmed that the caught fish was a juvenile great white shark — a protected species that is illegal to possess under federal law. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Section received verification of the shark’s species on Tuesday, June 19, from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service, which ran DNA tests using tissue samples from the specimen.
Burt Adams, who runs the Indian River Inlet Marina, was present when Davidson arrived with the catch on June 2.
“We all swore it as a mako,” Adams said. “There was marine patrol here at the dock. No one would pull in an illegal shark, knowing the law enforcement is right here. [The officers] even saw the fish and thought it was a mako.”
Both species share similar behavioral patterns, according to Adams.
“They’re both aggressive sharks,” he said. “It’s not very easy to tell them apart when they’re hooked. When you look at them above, a white shark would normally have a large belly, but a juvenile can look a lot like a mako.”
Adams noted that Davidson originally set out to catch a thresher shark. Also, according to Adams, and contradicting some other reports, Davidson did possess a shark fishing permit, which allows for him to land either a thresher or a mako, but not a great white.
“It’s simply a case of mistaken identification,” stated Lt. Aaron Hurd of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement. “There are some differences in both the fin placement and coloration [between mako sharks and white sharks], but the teeth can serve as the primary identification of the shark.”
The shark was caught about 8 miles offshore from Indian River Inlet.
While DNREC officials noted that white sharks are rarely seen in the Delaware Bay, Adams stated that white sharks have been known to use the bay as a spawning area in the fall months and can sometimes be seen in the waters — though they are not commonly hooked.
“It was very unfortunate for him,” said Adams, “but it was an honest mistake. It could have happened to anyone.”
Despite it being a mistake, though, Davidson could still face a stiff penalty.
“The captain is responsible for knowing the species of fish he brings in,” said Mark Oswell, a spokesman with the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement. “It’s still under investigation, but the ultimate fines will depend on what the attorneys say. The high-end penalty may be as much as $10,000. That’s probably the absolute maximum he could receive.”
White sharks are among 18 species on the Federal Shark Management Plan’s prohibited list, along with the sand tiger shark, another species that frequents Delaware waters. Once the investigation is complete, the case will be turned over to NOAA attorneys for potential civil penalties and potential permit sanctions against Davidson for possession of a protected species.