The Dorsal Fin

A video of a kayaker catching a thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) is making headlines. According to KABC-TV California fishermen Scotty Westgaard and David Saldamando “nearly turned out to be lunch for a hungry shark.” However, Saldamando told KABC that he was actually more worried about losing his fishing gear than getting bit by the hooked thresher shark. Westgaard and Saldamando did end up releasing the shark.

Thresher sharks are generally not considered to be a threat to humans, unless you believe the old story about a fisherman being decapitated by the whip-like tail of a thresher.

While this story originated as a local news piece, it has generated enough interest for BBC News to pick it up.