8-foot Bull Shark caught in Potomac River!

Ah, so that's where Janet Reno's been.

 

lol cute

 

What a waste of an animals life ...

One day we will learn that if you keep out of the water, sharks, etc. will leave you alone and we will farm the fish we want to eat.

At least this was an accidental kill, over here we have wankers that go out and kill sharks just for fun, and of course then we have the Japanese who just cut off their fins and drop them back in the water ... @rseholes.
Pete

 

How far upriver from the sea was this? Bulls are known to go into fully fresh water miles and miles from the ocean.

 

Point Lookout is nowhere near any ocean, about 45 min south of me... But opens up to the Chesapeake Bay which dumps into the Atlantic....

 

Couple more pics

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/maryland/eight-foot-shark-caught-in-the.html

 

WOW! Man that really is a good sized shark! Anyone want to go water skiing??!!!

 

As stated, Bulls are known to travel inland via brackish and even fresh water rivers. And, they are man-eaters. In fact, they may be responsible for more attacks on humans and their deaths than any other species of shark including Tigers and Great Whites.

See also the Matawan, NJ event that inspired Peter Benchley's JAWS book. That was reportedly also a Bull shark. (here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_shark_attacks_of_1916)

Scary? Sure, but I think it's still worth reminding people that the likelihood of being attacked and/or killed by a shark is still less than being struck by lightning.

CW

 

Unfortunately, Bull Sharks are stupid and go so close to the shore that it is common for them to get beached. While walking along the beach in Pensacola it is common to find many shark eggs.

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/bull-shark-off-pensacola-beach/4bff2377e5d4ddd30f6d4bff2377e5d4ddd30f6d-201768764491?q=%20bull%20shark%20beaches&FORM=VIRE1

 

There is worse stuff in the Potomac than sharks. Like the water.

 

Scariest video ever (not for the faint of heart)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpraJYnbVtE

 

Hhhhheeeeeeeyyyyyy!

Or, however, the Fonz said it.

CW

 

I was at the beach in Jacksonville, Florida 2 weeks ago . The lifeguards blew their whistles to get everyone out of the water , saying someone saw a shark fin , an hour later a neighbor reeled in a 6 to 7 ft. long Lemon Shark , pulled out the hook with a needle nose , and dragged it back into the ocean . I am looking forward to going back in the water soon ............. not !

 

Good on your neighbour, and yes just stick to swimming pools ...

Pete

 

That is funny

 

Impressive! My family has a condo near Hilton Head, SC...Port Royal Sound is one of the best shark-fishing destinations out there, and plenty of bull sharks are always hanging around. They've been known to swim up the Mississippi as far as Illinois so it wouldn't be too unexpected to see them in the Potomac east of the fall line. They're apparently one of the more aggressive shark species out there...

 

The Potomac is cleaner today than it was in 1940. It is actually an amazingly healthy eco-system for being an "urban" river.

 

Its only urban thru DC. There are no major industrial cities upstream.

For sure its cleaner since the Clean Water Act was enacted but, ...

I've paddled pretty much all of it including both forks of the Shenendoah River which empties into it at Harper's Ferry. The south fork of Shenendoah is made from the North, Middle and South Rivers. The South River downstream from Waynesboro, VA reaks of pollution. Middle River is pure cow pasture runoff. North River isn't as bad. They all get diluted by smaller tributaries along the South Fork. North Fork Shenadoah is much cleaner.

Still, if you've been over any of the falls, you'll see a froth that certainly isn't natural. The amount of phosphorus from fertilizer runoff from farms and golf courses choke it with algae species thriving on being fed by fertilizer.

The amount of trash emptying into it from the Anacosta is appauling. And if you drive across Woodrow Wilson bridge, often you can smell the White Plains sewage not contained at White Plains treatment plant.

"Dilution is the solution to pollution" - White Plains wastewater treatment plant.

 

I dont live far from front royal and yes you could smell the place even here and im roughly 10 miles from it ,one of the best days is when they closed that place ,just an accident waiting to happen .

 

Am aways looking for fins when I'm jet skiing around Hampton Roads... Today I ran into about 30 dolphins on my way to Norfolk, VA. I hope I never see an eight full bull shark. Wow.

 

You really are new to the area, huh? I mean you bad mouth it enough. Gives you a pretty nice living though, doesn't it?

Up river there was tons of industry until the early 80's. Brunswick, Sheperdstown, Williamsport, Hancock, all the way up to Cumberland had smelters, coal processors, and all sorts of heavy industry dumping untreated waste into the Potomac.

The smell at White Plains IS the sewage that has been removed and is drying out, it is the sewage that has been contained. When it enters the river after the occasional heavy rain/leakage, the smell dissipates for days. White Planes ships out the sludge by the tractor trailer load to incinerators to be burned and to forests in the southern end of Virgina and North Carolina to fertilize trees. They used to sell it as "Com-pro" for lawns, but a bunch of sissys thought it might get kids sick with e-coli, although it was cooked for months before distribution. Stuff used to be used at RFK to keep the field looking great, and made great seasonal topsoil for yards and gardens.


The remaining pollutants is pretty much limited to agriculture, but it is more from Johnny Homeowner than it is from farmers or golf courses. Those that have to grow grass and crops for a living keep a very close eye on their bottom line, these businesses use the minimum amount of fertilizer that is needed, and do their best to lot let their money be washed away in the rain. Home owners on the other hand do not know exactly what they need, so a little extra is much better in their minds than not enough.

I have paddled the entire region, although not so much in the last 5 years as I have entered parenthood, and have seen the river cleansing over the decades. While it is not perfect, it is as clean or cleaner than most other rivers flowing through a major city in this country, or pretty much any other city on the planet.

 

Yeah right. I was born here.

So if we get paid enough, its ok to pollute?

So how many times is leakage and heavy rain runoff at White Plains acceptable? My answer is zero.

We agree that the river is cleaner than how cruddy it was. Besides paddling it and many of its tributaries, I hiked the entire C&O Canal in the early 70s. Golf courses are still the worst contributor of fertilizer pollution. There are/were turf farms right on the larger islands in the Potomac. Google or yahoomaps satelite will show you how much greener and more land is occupied by farms and business parks than private homes.

Back on off-topic, last week the River Monster episode was on Bull Sharks in South Africa.