Big Bigger Biggest

[Fiskadoro]

So the rumor is Jason Johnston's 1,323 pound Mako is going to qualify as the new world record.



That is one Big Mako!!!!

[kareem korn]

Stupid.

[driftwood]

That thing should of been released Look how pissed off it looks.

[crazyfishnfool]

Looks like the one I caught and released off my yak 2 months ago. I should of known it was a world record

[jorluivil]

Its amazing and scary that those things can get that big.

[wiredantz]

Hope my day doesn't come anytime soon.

[Old Man in the Sea]

Frankly I am glad he is in the cart - let the humans eat him...

[oneyedeer]

Originally Posted by Old Man in the Sea

Frankly I am glad he is in the cart - let the humans eat him...

X2

[driftwood]

Originally Posted by oneyedeer

X2

That shark probably eats about 20 seals a year. Next time a seal steals your bait, you'll wish more of those big sharks are still around.

[Cadillyak]

And the next time I see a massive fin, I'll wish there were less. LMAO!!

[619-SWIM-DOG]

Originally Posted by driftwood

That shark probably eats about 20 seals a year. Next time a seal steals your bait, you'll wish more of those big sharks are still around.

X 2

[Dail14]

There are not many if any recorded bites from Makos not including those of people who bring them aboard a boat. We need more of them to bring down the fur bags..

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Dail14

There are not many if any recorded bites from Makos not including those of people who bring them aboard a boat.

I read somewhere that there were something like forty Mako attacks in the last few decades and some of them involved fatalities, but about half of those were cases where the shark attacked the boat.

Whites and Tigers attack more people because they hunt in the shallows where people swim. Adult Mako's are opportunistic apex predators that eat large prey. They will kill swordfish almost their size and have no problem killing seals, and even Dolphins. I saw one kill a 250+ pound sword off the west end of Catalina, just came up and ripped it's tail off. I'm sure they would have no problems with killing people. The deal is there's not a ton of big ones around close to shore, and people rarely swim offshore where they feed.

What most people don't know is that large Makos are historically known for attacking boats, much more so then any other shark. They've been known to come up unprovoked and grab outboards of moving skiffs, sometimes destroying the transom or motor. I knew an old timer from Redondo that had one attack his boat three times each time killing the motor. Every time he'd fire it back up that shark would attack again. Finally he just quit trying and waited it out. Said it was a big Male Mako maybe 800 pounds and that the whole thing scared the hell out of him. This guy was a long time commercial fisherman and I certainly believed him.

Though I'm sure the California inshore attacks against surfers historically where white sharks, I'm starting to think that some of the White Shark sitings offshore are possibly big makos. The deal is most people don't know enough about them to tell them apart. I've seen vids where people have dove and even swam with Great Whites. Whites are much more selective about what they feed upon, and have even been known to leave surfers after an initial attack. I can't see a Mako doing that, once they want to feed on something they mortally wound it then stick around till it's done. I doubt your ever going to see a video with a diver swimming with a 1000 pound Mako. I sure as hell wouldn't do it. You can get away with that with little makos, but anyone who tries it with an adult in my opinion absolutely insane.

[Fiskadoro]

So I looked around for info on Makos and boat attacks.

Here's a vid I found where a Mako went after a skiff.



That shark attacked their outboard while they were under power. The vid starts after they turn around to see what they hit. You can see where the prop left cuts on the makos mouth and head but it's still more interested in attacking the outboard then the tuna chunks they throw in the water. Another male mako, not a really huge one but you can see it's clearly pissed off, and it's kind of wild that even after it was injured by the prop it still not afraid of the boat, and still being aggressive.

[PapaDave]

I wonder how old that shark was...

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by PapaDave

I wonder how old that shark was...

Should be pretty maxed out. They live for thirty years give or take a year so it was probably close to if not over thirty. Sharks grow their entire lifetime in fact they age them by checking the growth rings like tree rings in their spine. Since it was the largest ever taken it's probably one of the oldest and wasn't going to around much longer.

The enviros were pissed off that the shark was taken because they said it was valuable for reproduction. The truth is they only pup every three years with a 18 month gestation then a 18 month break between pregnancies. So if it was close to thirty, which it probably was, unless it was carrying pups it was probably not going to reproduce again.

[LawDog]

Tell me more about the last kayak fisher you heard of actualy attacked by a shark. There is more of a possibility of a sea lion biting your leg while trying to take your catch.

Not that im against catching a shark, for food, but lets not get this crazy Jaws shark hunt going again and destroying species just out of fear.

If your that scared, Ill take your gear, keep what i want, and sell the rest.

Botom line is dont take what you dont plan to eat. And dont kill out of ignorance.

[dos ballenas]

Originally Posted by Fiskadoro

Should be pretty maxed out. They live for thirty years give or take a year so it was probably close to if not over thirty. Sharks grow their entire lifetime in fact they age them by checking the growth rings like tree rings in their spine. Since it was the largest ever taken it's probably one of the oldest and wasn't going to around much longer.

The enviros were pissed off that the shark was taken because they said it was valuable for reproduction. The truth is they only pup every three years with a 18 month gestation then a 18 month break between pregnancies. So if it was close to thirty, which it probably was, unless it was carrying pups it was probably not going to reproduce again.

Are you kidding Jim?

I am the biologist who initially contacted Mako Matt and arranged for the fish to be sampled for research purposes. Both Keith Poe and Mako Matt were extremely helpful and made sure that the appropriate labs recieved sections of vertebrae, tissue, and stomach contents for future analysis. The fish is currently being aged and compared to other tagged and recaptured sharks in order to validate the results.

Where did you find the information you posted in the quote above? 30 years old? 18 month gestation period? Please direct me to the scientific journal which states data supporting or validating you claims.

The two statements you made above are actually the two most important questions that researchers are STILL trying to answer. Shark biologists are the first people to admit that they know nothing about the reproductive cycle, gestation period, litter size, migration patterns, and population size of large female mako sharks.

And the age and growth rates of mako sharks are yet to be validated. Old studies have previously estimated that mako sharks could live for upwards of 20 years. But new, current research, is revealing that those estimates are likely way OFF.

Yes sharks are aged using cross sections cut out of their vertebrae. And yes they can be read similar to the methods for aging trees with tree trunk rings. But unlike most bony fish and trees aging sharks in not as straightforward as you would think.

For example it is unknown if mako sharks create one, two, or three growth rings per year. This fact alone is why the jury is still out on aging sharks.



I admit I'm not expert myself and the statements you made above could be true. I just spend a lot of time working with the researchers who are currently trying to decide on the appropriate methods to age mako sharks.

NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center has been injecting Mako and blue sharks for years with a antibiotic which stains the vertebrae of sharks that they then tag and release. Ask Keith Poe about this if you like.

The only way to validate age and growth for sharks is to recapture those same tagged sharks and then determine the amount of growth that occurred during their time at liberty based off when the shark was tagged and then counting number of growth rings laid down after the sharks vertebrae was stained with the antibiotic.

[Dim Jay]

Originally Posted by Fiskadoro

So the rumor is Jason Johnston's 1,323 pound Mako is going to qualify as the new world record.



That is one Big Mako!!!!

That fish is obviously not a Mako. It is clearly a Great White. The internet told me so.

I also heard he used a gun to dispatch the fish, so it probably wont be accepted by the IFGA, or the sporting community. I also know for a fact that the fish only ate 12" pacific mac's, and that it was well over 100 years old.

Just my take.

Jay

[Bubble Boy]

Originally Posted by Dim Jay

...

Just my take.

Jay

Jay, no need to be so modest. You clearly have read more of the internet than most fishermen.