Photo of tiger shark in Florida river lands two men in trouble
Tiger sharks are not freshwater creatures and are prohibited from harvest in Florida state waters, according to the FWC.
A court date awaits two fishermen who are accused of possession of a prohibited species after a tiger shark ended up roped in a Florida river, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The investigation was launched after a photo of a man holding a distressed tiger shark in the Chassahowitzka River, north of Tampa, was widely circulated on social media over the weekend.
Concerned citizens made the FWC aware of the photo, which was originally posted on a Facebook page hosted by Real Florida hunting and fishing. To date, it has drawn at least 1,200 comments and 5,700 shares.
Witnesses told WFLA-TV News Channel 8 that the shark had been tied with rope and dragged behind a fishing boat before being gutted in the river’s lagoon.
Tiger sharks are not freshwater creatures and are prohibited from harvest in Florida state waters, according to the FWC.
The identities of the two men accused have not yet been made public, Karen Parker, an FWC spokesperson, said Wednesday.
The man in the photo, Joseph Wilson, 22, from Lutz, Florida, is not facing charges, officials said. Wilson told the Citrus County Chronicle he regrets posing with the shark.
“I’ve never seen (this shark) before,” Wilson said to the Chronicle. “(It) had a rope tied to its tail and it was still in the water.
“I said, ‘Can I take a picture of it?’ and (one of the men) said, ‘Sure.’ I probably picked it up for about 10 seconds and then I put it back in the water.”