Shark terrifies fisherman as 300lb-beast’s eyes roll back as it emerges off Isle of Wight

Ray Breton, 53, was fishing near the Isle of Wight when he was confronted with the enormous porbeagle shark. The shark, which was attracted by the mackerel bait on Mr Breton’s rod, snapped his rod clean in two.

The porbeagle shark, stunning the unsuspecting angler, weighed in at over 300lbs.

Porbeagle sharks are sometimes mistaken for great white sharks, although they are significantly smaller in size.

The shark is described as a “powerful, squat-bodied shark” by fishing experts at British Sea Fishing.

It is typically found closer to the UK coastlines during the summer months.

The organisation described the shark as one favouring deeper water, where it “actively hunts in mid-water for mackerel, herring and squid”.

It added: “Its alternative name of mackerel shark is due to it feeding on this species, and not because it looks like, or is related to mackerel.”

In UK waters, porbeagle sharks can typically reach 300lbs.

However, in other parts of the world, they can reach double this size.

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“They come up to the surface and swim round the boat. It’s amazing to watch.

“They are very delicate when they take the bait but after about 30 seconds we decided to tighten the line.

“It took about 40 minutes to land.

“They look very, very much like a great white, the only way to tell the difference is by their fins – they are very, very similar.”

Just a month later, a 324lb porbeagle shark was caught off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Craig Deans, a skipper on the vessel that spotted the shark, said: “I’ve never seen anything that big before, although I’m sure there are bigger fish out there.

“When I saw the size of it, I was pretty shocked.

“We didn’t really see how big it was until it was brought up alongside the boat.”