Mandurah resident Michael Draper hooked this whopping 320kg tiger shark while beach fishing in Falcon on Monday night.
It took about an hour and 20 minutes to land the nine-foot animal on an 80-pound braid line.
It was a team effort, with the help of mates Saiya Te Pou and Jesse to release the shark without injuring it.
"Tiger sharks this size are protected and need to be released immediately but it fought really hard and got tangled in a thick bed of seaweed about 150 metres offshore so it was exhausted," Michael said.
"As soon as we saw it, instead of cutting the line we had to race to get the hook out and free it so we could swim it back in the water. It was only on the shoreline for maybe 50 seconds.
"Then all three of us pushed it back into the water and swam it around until it was ready and swam off strongly."
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Michael said tiger sharks were beautiful animals and needed to be protected.
"We were not actually fishing for tiger sharks but there have been a few big bronze whalers and a bull shark seen lately so we wanted to see if we could get one of those," he said.
"People need to understand that sharks are not killing machines.
"Yes, we need to be cautious when we are in the water but not scared because fear leads people to make poor decisions."
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Daniela Cooper
Daniela has returned to her first love after a decade of working in local, state and federal governments, non-profits and the corporate world. She has a passion for injustice; to be a voice for those who don't have one; to hold power to account; and to bring readers the news without fear. She loves to explore new places and unfamiliar topics (both in her professional and private life) but her go-to loves are travel, health, social justice, foreign affairs and the outdoors. Email daniela.cooper@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Daniela has returned to her first love after a decade of working in local, state and federal governments, non-profits and the corporate world. She has a passion for injustice; to be a voice for those who don't have one; to hold power to account; and to bring readers the news without fear. She loves to explore new places and unfamiliar topics (both in her professional and private life) but her go-to loves are travel, health, social justice, foreign affairs and the outdoors. Email daniela.cooper@austcommunitymedia.com.au
