Florida Man Pulled Over, Found With Illegally Harvested Shark In Cooler

In “Jaws,” Brody, Quint and Hooper realized they needed a bigger boat when they caught a glimpse of the massive shark. On Saturday, a Florida man needed a bigger cooler to store a dead shark he was not supposed to have, the Miami Herald reported.

Jose Medina of Miami was in the Florida Keys over the weekend when he was stopped by Monroe County Deputy Nelson Sanchez in Islamadora, Florida. Sanchez inquired about the fishing rods he noticed in Medina’s truck, to which Medina replied that he and his friend had been fishing in the area.

Medina then proceeded to show Sanchez his catches, which included some snapper fish he kept in a cooler. Sanchez then inquired about a larger cooler in the truck, which Medina eventually admitted contained a lemon shark.

Lemon sharks are a protected species in Florida because of low reproduction rates and high risk of over-harvesting, according to WPLG-10, an ABC affiliate in Miami. Medina told police he found the shark on the shoreline and did not want it to go to waste, but was cited for it anyway. He could be fined hundreds of dollars for harvesting a protected shark species.

Growing up to 10-feet long, lemon sharks are large and can be found along coastlines on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Their fins, skin and meat are all popular for various uses, making lemon sharks valuable and widely hunted.

Despite their large sizes and popularity among fishermen, lemon sharks do not pose much of a threat to humans. No person has ever been killed by a lemon shark, and there have only been 10 recorded unprovoked attacks. They are most active at night, meaning accidental contact with humans is kept to a minimum.

In other shark news, a paddleboarder in Hawaii on Saturday lost some of his leg after being attacked by a shark.

Meanwhile, beaches along the Saco River in New Hampshire had to be closed over the weekend after a great white shark escaped from the Living Shores Aquarium. The 25-foot beast reportedly left a trail of beaver carcasses along its warpath on the river.