900-Pound Shark Brought in to Marina del Rey Landing

The shark was more than twice the size of those normally brought in to the harbor

A monster of the sea was killed and brought in to Marina del Rey – a shark so heavy that it damaged the brand-new scale at the dock.

The 900-pound shark took some eight men to lift it out of the water Monday afternoon at Del Rey Landing, the marina's general manager said.

"Our digital scale goes to 750, and it was bent before half of the shark was off the ground," said General Manager Craig Campbell, who was present when the giant shark was brought in.

The fishermen's battle at sea with the shark broke the on-boat equipment as well, Campbell said. The fishermen had to tow the shark back to the marina because it was too heavy to pull aboard, he said.

Campbell said the fish was thought to be a mako shark, a species that is often eaten. Makos that are brought in to the marina are usually in the 300-to-400-pound range, he said.

The fishermen who landed the shark were about 15 miles off the coast, according to the Marina del Rey Patch, which first reported the catch Tuesday. Campbell suspected it was caught on the far side of Catalina Island.

He said he didn't know the names of the fisherman, though he thought they were locals.

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Campbell said the fishermen don't keep boats at Del Rey Landing, which is a luxury facility designed for yachts.

The Marina del Rey Patch reported that the fishermen had gone to sea with the intent of catching a shark.

Most sharks brought in to the landing are donated to downtown Los Angeles food banks, Campbell said.

"Mako is fantastic," Campell said. "It's very good eating."

Campbell said he was uncertain what happened to the shark carcass and did not know where the fishermen took it. He said he thought they may have taken it down to a Redondo Beach marina, but a marina manager and the owner of a sportfishing business there said the shark hadn't appeared in the harbor to the south.

The fish appeared to be either a longfin mako or shortfin mako in photos, said Heal the Bay Coastal Resources Director Sarah Sikich. Neither species is threatened nor endangered, but longfin and shortfin mako are both listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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