A couple of fishermen spotted what they believed to be a great white shark over the weekend.
Larry Smith was fishing with a friend 18 miles off the coast of Fort DeSoto on Saturday when they spotted the shark. They estimated the shark to be between 11 and 12 feet long.
But Mote Marine lab shark experts said based on their video it appeared to be a shortfin mako, not a great white.
Jeremy Hennessy from Valrico said he shot cell phone video of the shark. Hennesy said they first noticed the shark when it began tugging on a chum cage.
"This thing just came out from under the boat out of nowhere. It actually broke water. It came up and it grabbed the cage as I had my hand on the rope and it kind of put the fear of God in me a little bit and then it stuck around the boat. I decided to get some video of it,” he said.
Dr. Bob Hueter with Mote Marine Laboratory said the shark is more like 8 to 9 feet long. He said those kinds of sharks are more abundant than great whites and are more commonly found off the Bay area coast during winter months.
Hennessy said his 9-year-old son Shawn, had a hunch this shark was a mako.
“It kind of looked like a mako I guess. It didn't really fit the great white shark persona but either way it was big,” he said. "It was interesting, it was kind of shocking at first, then it became exciting and then it became a nuisance 'cause it wouldn't leave."
Hennessy said they were forced to pull up anchor and leave because the fishing's no good when there's a shark around.
Fab Marchese and his fishing buddies made news over the weekend when they caught a great white shark off the coast of Treasure Island on Friday. They ended up letting the shark go. The shark on their video was confirmed to be a great white.