Aussies shocked and divided by fishermen's 'magnificent' catch at tourist hotspot

Two fishermen scored themselves the catch of a lifetime while chasing Spanish mackerel in Queensland, when accidentally reeling in a mega 4.2-metre hammerhead shark.

Bribie Island man Kurt Donald was fishing with some mates on K'gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, when they unexpectedly hooked the shark, describing it as "the biggest one we've ever seen". However, images shared on social media divided Aussies with the topic of shark fishing proving contentious once again.

Although Donald noted the "magnificent" catch was "accidentally caught and quickly released", adding the hooks were removed" and the shark was "released while in the water," some condemned the images highlighting the dark reality of the catch, with one person even saying, "this is animal cruelty in its most horrific form".

Australia's hammerhead shark population declining

It's understood the Australian hammerhead shark population is declining, likely due to overfishing. Shark scientist Dr Leonardo Guida previously told Yahoo News Australia "hammerheads are known by scientists to suffer extreme amounts of stress when they are caught on line" and they often don't survive when released back into the water — unlike other sharks.

Reacting to the photos posted online this morning, conservationist Lisa Jane Hills suggested the shark's chance of survival after release was slim.

It was a sad reality many in the comments also pointed out.

"Did you know hammerheads have a 95 per cent fatality rate after catch and release?" claimed one person in response to the fisherman's post. "They are also listed as critically endangered everywhere else in the world. I don't find this cool at all."

According to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, two hammerhead species — the great hammerhead and the scalloped hammerhead — are listed as endangered in Australia. Meanwhile, the smooth hammerhead is "near threatened" while the winghead is considered "vulnerable".

Despite some backlash, others didn't see a problem with the accidental catch and release.

One person hit back saying she hates it when "people start being negative when people catch hammerheads". "It’s not like you can pick and choose what fish takes the bait," she added.

Shark wrangler defends catch, but understands the criticism

NT-based shark wrangler Alexander Mulligan, known for "chasing monster sharks in the Top End", spoke to Yahoo News Australia about the incident. He agreed it looked like the fishermen "did the right thing" by releasing it straight back into the water — but said he could understand the criticism.

With Hammerheads, there's often only a "90 second to two minute" window before "it's going to have real difficulties returning to the water," he said. After that their "muscles seize", preventing them from swimming which often results in them sinking to the bottom and drowning.

"I do get where people come from. I absolutely do," he said of the backlash noting the importance of "doing it right". As an experienced shark fisherman using the correct equipment, he says you can often tell if you've hooked a hammerhead because "the line will just be absolutely screaming off the reel".

"Hammerheads take the bait and they run as fast as they can with it. Whereas tiger sharks, it's more of a slow take," he said. For those less experienced, "they'd know they'd hooked something very large," he explained, but often the species might not be known until it's reeled in.

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Despite it being controversial, Mulligan insists he and his fishing buddies do what they can to help the sharks when fishing for them in the northern waters.

"When we bring them in, nine out of 10 sharks that we bring in will actually have other people's hooks and lines and all sorts of stuff caught on them," he said.

"When we bring them in, not only do we take out our hook, but we will also remove all the tangled lines, all the snagged hooks that are on these sharks. Sometimes they even come in, and they've got ropes or nets caught on them. We'll remove all that.

"We always try to send them back better than they were."

What does the law say in Australia?

The laws around catching hammerheads differ from state to state in Australia and it can get a little complicated, Dr Guida explained when speaking with Yahoo previously.

"If you're fishing recreationally in Australia, at least in Queensland and New South Wales, it's illegal to take hammerhead sharks. However, in Australian waters, our commercial fisheries are still allowed to take endangered hammerhead sharks for consumption," he said.

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