Warning: Video contains graphic language.
A group of anglers were treated to an aerial display after they hooked into a shortfin mako shark while fishing off the coast of Indian Rocks Beach on Sunday.
Kellen Keglor and a group of friends were on their way back to port after a day of fishing approximately seven miles from shore when they saw the large shark circling their boat. Keglor threw a bait into the water which was immediately snapped up by what the anglers believed to be an approximately 14-footer.
Afer a short run, the shark then breached completely from the water three times before finally snapping the line after a nearly 45 minute fight.
“It was honestly ridiculous to see a shark that big get that high in the air that’s why we were screaming like that,” Taylor Danowski, who shot the video, told Fox 13 in Tampa.
Shortfin makos can grow up to 15 feet in length and weigh up to 1,500 pounds. Although they are frequently sighted in the Gulf of Mexico, they are rarely sighted close to shore and are more commonly found in open waters at depths starting around 150 feet.
“It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen,” Keglor said.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service considers the species to be vulnerable due to overfishing and are currently managing populations in state and federal waters. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission allows for the harvest of one shortfall mako over 54 inch fork length per angler per day in state waters.