Republished June 25, 2020 - 9:27 AM
Original Publication Date June 24, 2020 - 9:41 AM
LEWES, Del. - A swimmer in Delaware was caught on camera prying a shark’s mouth open with his hands this weekend in an effort to free it from a fishing hook.
The video shows the man grabbing onto the shark at a beach in Cape Henlopen State Park. He went into the water to unhook it after another person caught it, the Daily Times of Salisbury reported Tuesday.
“Everyone started yelling, ‘Shark, shark, get out of the water!’” said Delaware native Rachael Foster, who shared her video on social media. “It was so crazy, like a movie. Like Jaws.”
State law prohibits people from keeping sand tiger and sandbar sharks if caught. People must release them immediately.
The newspaper reported park rangers were on site Sunday to assist and monitor the situation.
Earlier this month, a boy was hospitalized for puncture wounds after he was possibly bitten by a shark in the park. The boy, 12, was surfing when something bit his leg. Officials then temporarily closed the park’s Herring Point to surfing and swimming.
Shark attacks are rare. The Florida Museum of Natural History recorded 41 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks in the U.S. last year. The cases represented 64% of the worldwide total.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020