Angler in hot water over eMdloti shark catch
Roarke Hamilton has explained his side of the story following pictures of a Zambezi shark caught on eMdloti beach.
A LOCAL angler expressed shock following comments made by various people on Facebook following his catch-and-release of a Bull (Zambezi) shark on eMdloti Beach. Roarke Hamilton said he reeled in the 171 kilogram shark (215cm long) from the shore of eMdloti beach near Bel Punto.
Hamilton, who only fishes for sharks, skates and rays said he released the shark within a minute but was shocked to see the abuse hurled at him on social media.
“I’ve been fishing for years and I only fish for sharks and rays, when I reeled in this Zambezi, there were around 200 people on the beach. Everyone was snapping pictures. One of the pictures put up on Facebook was me opening the Sharks jaw, but I was waiting for my friend to take the hook out, not hurting the shark. I love sharks and I always strive not to hurt them. As a rule, once the shark is out the water, we never keep it out for more than a minute. I was shocked to see the abuse levelled at me and a lot of it was unfounded.
“We never take the sharks far from the water’s edge, just out of the reach of the waves. We also use a tail rope to pull the shark to shore. People made comments based on two pictures but did not see the release of the sharks and it swimming away. I would never hurt any animal,” he said.
Hamilton added he also tags sharks for the Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI).
