Overview
- A video of Nantucket fisherman Elliot Sudal reeling in, unhooking, and returning a roughly 8.5–9 foot great white to the water drew crowds and wide attention after the encounter on Sunday, with Sudal and local outlets describing the shark as about 300 pounds.
- Media accounts differ on how long the shark was handled, with some reports saying Sudal returned it in about 15 seconds and others saying the landing and unhooking took 25 to 40 minutes, a discrepancy that has prompted questions about best-practice release timing.
- NOAA Fisheries classifies white sharks as a prohibited species in U.S. waters, meaning they cannot be intentionally targeted or retained, and local groups used the Nantucket footage to urge swimmers to follow safety guidance and to report sightings via tools such as the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app.
- Separately, divers on a May 13 ghost-net removal mission in the Strait of Sicily captured what Healthy Seas and partner groups say is the first known underwater footage of an adult great white in the Mediterranean, a rare record for a population listed as critically endangered there.
- Conservationists say both episodes underline two linked risks: rising coastal shark encounters as waters warm that call for clear handling rules and public warnings, and fishing-related threats in the Mediterranean that demand expanded ghost-net removal and stronger protections to reduce bycatch and entanglement.