A 393-pound thresher shark was caught on Friday in waters south of the Vineyard. The fish, caught by Allen Bradley of Weatherfield Conn., was a record breaker for that species in the 14th annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament.
A total of 82 boats from all along the Eastern Seaboard showed up for two intense days of fishing. They started fishing early in the morning and quit by 3:30 p.m. Most of the boats were home by late afternoon.
A huge 454-pound blue shark was caught during the tenth annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament held over the weekend. The shark could be the largest blue ever caught, a world record.
The shark was caught by Pete Bergin of Shrewsbury in his boat Quality Time. Mr. Bergin's boat was one of 65 participating in the Boston Big Game Fishing Club's annual event. Competing boats filled the Oak Bluffs waterfront for most of the weekend. On Friday and Saturday a large number of fish were caught, and even more were released.
A man participating in this weekend's Oak Bluffs Monster Shark tournament was injured Friday afternoon when a blue shark bit him on the forearm.
Peter Phillips, 36, of Taunton was fishing more than 10 miles off the Island's South Shore in the boat Sea Tern when he landed a large blue shark, tournament officials said. When he attempted to bring the shark on board the boat, Mr. Phillips was struck on his outstretched forearm.
"Apparently, the shark just lunged out at him," Edgartown deputy police chief Paul Condlin said.
South Beach has reopened after a shark sighting closed the popular Edgartown beach to swimming earlier Tuesday. Edgartown parks department director Jessica McGroarty said that the sighting occurred at 12:15 p.m.
Three seals with markings indicative of shark bites have hauled up on the Vineyard’s south shore in recent weeks, prompting calls for caution from Island beach managers.
In the aftermath of a rare shark sighting that temporarily closed South Beach in Edgartown on Tuesday, researchers are looking for answers as to what is drawing sharks to the Cape and Islands in large numbers in recent years.
