Sydney fishermen reel in 394kg tiger shark so big it had to be held from slipping back into the ocean

This is a jaw-dropping catch. A monster tiger shark tipping the scales at 394.5kg has been caught off the Sydney coast. It reportedly took Paul Barning and his crew on fishing boat the Dark Horse 45 minutes to reel in the shark, with incredible photographs showing the whopper of a creature being held on the vessel as it was taken to shore. Amazed onlookers flooded the jetty at Port hacking in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire as the shark was craned off the boat and weighed. A photo of the massive catch has been shared by the Port Hacking Game Fishing Club on Facebook. “Think you’re gonna need a bigger boat,” Frederick Trim wrote. Matthew Vicci said: “My daughter is 9, I just showed her the picture as we caught a small mako a few weeks back… she said she thinks you caught JAWS!” Another fan, William Hansen said “how do u even kill that thing without getting chomped. Mad effort.” Tiger sharks are one of the largest shark species in the world — they can grow up to 6m long and weigh up to 1000kg — and are considered to be second to the great white shark in terms of the number of attacks on humans. They are considered to be “near threatened” but some, including the Australian Marine Conservation Society, believe they should be listed as endangered. In NSW, recreational fishers are allowed to catch one tiger shark a day. According to WA’s Shark Smart website, it is understood that tiger sharks have only been responsible for one bite in WA since 1980. Recreational fishers sometimes catch them, but are usually released due to the maximum size restrictions – 700mm. Last year, eight people were killed in shark attacks across Australia — the most number of killings in almost 100 years. Body boarder Charles Cernobori, 58, was fatally attacked by what was originally suspected to be a 3-4m tiger shark near Broome’s famous Cable Beach in November. DNA tests later concluded a bull shark was responsible — the first fatal attack by the species in WA in almost 100 years. In December, a 5.3m female great white shark was tagged off Cottesloe Beach, which was almost the biggest ever tagged — it was 10cm off the record. In January, Bicton father-of-two Cameron Wrathall was attacked by a 3m bull shark while swimming in the Swan River.