A surfcaster on Nantucket's south shore got the surprise of his life last weekend when the fish on the end of his line turned out to be a great white shark — a federally protected species he had to unhook and release within seconds, all in front of a crowd of phone cameras.
Elliot Sudal, a well-known shark angler who tags and releases sharks off the island, hooked the white on Sunday while fishing with apprentice Stone Fornes and fellow angler Nathan Skerritt. He had no idea what it was until it was almost at his feet. "Saw the spotted pectoral fin flash in a wave and just focused," he said.
The shark measured an estimated 8.5 to 9 feet and weighed around 300 pounds. Sudal, who fishes barbless circle hooks and heavy tackle precisely so fish can be released fast, said the whole encounter was over in about 15 seconds. Video that spread across the internet this week shows him in the shallows alongside the animal before it powered away. "I mean, it was just crazy. I was hugging it," he told CBS News. "She swam off strong — not something we will ever forget."
For all his experience, this one rattled him. "I was excited and stressed," he said. "On Nantucket specifically, I have caught over 1,000 sandbar, brown sharks and then hundreds of dusky sharks. That was the first great white." He was sharply aware of the optics and the law. "It's cool, but it's a responsibility," he said. "There's 50 people with cameras around and it is a protected species, and they are endangered." He pushed back on any suggestion he had gone looking for it. "You can't pick what picks up your bait. Yes, this happened, and I felt like I handled the situation correctly."
The catch lands in the middle of a wider trend. John Chisholm, an adjunct scientist at the New England Aquarium, said white shark numbers off Massachusetts have been climbing for years as the water warms. "Sightings are starting to increase. The water is getting warmer and the sharks are migrating north," he said. He urged beachgoers to treat the species with respect rather than panic. "People need to be aware the sharks are here. This is their home, and when you go into their home, you need to be prepared." His advice was blunt: "Be aware. I can't say it enough. And the other side of that coin: if you see one, report it."
Kristen Smith, outreach manager at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, framed the rebound as good news for the ecosystem, even as it changes the math for anglers and swimmers. "It is incredibly exciting to see the species come back year in and year out," she said. Her tips for the season: stay waist deep or less, avoid murky water, and keep away from seals and schools of fish.
Sudal has noticed the shift himself. "Everything has been showing up earlier the last few years — sandbar sharks, duskys, sand tigers, roughtail rays," he said. "That was the first white I've hooked in 13 years on Nantucket."