Dorset angler bags record blue shark (From Dorset Echo)

Dorset angler bags record blue shark

10:30am Friday 5th November 2010 in News By Arron Hendy

Dorset angler Wayne Little defied his name to land the biggest blue shark ever caught in British waters.

Wayne, 41, risked life and limb to snare the big shark, that measured 8ft in length and weighed a mighty 222lb.

It beat the previous biggest catch by 4lb – a record that has stood for 49 years.

But despite his achievement the awesome fish cannot be officially recognised as a record – because Wayne didn’t kill it.

Controversial rules by the British Records Fish Committee stipulate that any record fish must be weighed on a quayside or bank in order for it to be considered.

Wayne, from Milton Abbas, used a trusted formula of measuring the length and girth of the fish to calculate its weight before throwing it back safe and well.

The angling community has largely accepted Wayne’s catch as the biggest blue shark caught in UK waters as the method used is recognised by the Angling Trust.

Wayne said: “I would never kill a fish like that for the sake of a bit of paper telling me I’m the record holder.

“The days of fishermen killing a big sea fish and then dragging it up the quayside on to scales just to claim a record are gone, you can’t do that any more.

“The record authorities need to accept that and change the rules.

“The formula we used is tried and tested and accurate and I know that is the biggest blue shark ever caught in British waters.”

Wayne caught the deadly fish during a day’s fishing trip 20 miles off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.

He used a mackerel as bait and a 400lb line in order to snare the blue shark – prionace glauca in Latin.

Wayne, a who runs a fishery in Milton Abbas, said: “It was quite a gentle bite to start with but then it started messing around with the bait for a bit and I could feel then that it was going to be quite big.

“It took me 50 minutes to reel it in, it was really tiring and my knees were shaking by the end of it. It was a fair old lump.

“It was an awesome sight when it broke the surface and was the biggest fish that I have seen.”

Boat skipper Andrew Alsop sat on the head of the shark to prevent it from biting Wayne and his fishing partner Martin Bowler.

Wayne and Andrew then held the shark aloft in order to pose for the customary photograph before throwing it back into the water.

Andrew, of White Water Charters based at Milford Haven, said: “It would have been criminal to have killed that shark. There would have been an outcry.”