When Ian Atherton traveled across the pool from his aim Fleetwood, England, to Florida's house Coast for associate degree vacation in April, one in every of the items that he had on his bucket list was to catch a shark.


He had continually unreal what it might be prefer to tangle man-to-fish with one in every of the ocean's most dire apex predators.


How's that speech set about the best-laid plans?


Atherton was able to catch and unharness an enormous seafaring fish, solely it wasn't a shark. Instead, it had been an overseas first cousin and a fewthing a lot of rarer — and some may say a lot of cooler — than a shark.


A 13-foot long ray was caught and discharged Gregorian calendar month. 4, 2021 by anglers fishing with Fin and Fly Charters out of Port Canaveral.

What within the world?

Atherton joined Capt. Jon Cangianella of Fin & Fly charters in Cocoa Beach April nine for a morning half-day to start with shark fishing, then to do to catch a number of the opposite standard fishing targets within the nearshore waters of the Atlantic Ocean.


Cangianella steered Atherton out from Port Canaveral to a spot in regarding thirty five feet of water some miles from the water. He deployed a piece of bluefish, associate degree oily fish that pulls in sharks from an outsized distance once the scent of the fish gets into the ocean's currents.


Soon, there was a bite. Right away, line began laying off the reel — not quick, however steady and powerful. Atherton reeled tight to line the hook and commenced his battle on rod and reel. The tug of war went on for regarding associate degree hour. because the fish histrion near to the boat, Cangianella knew what Atherton had won't be a shark in the end.


The rostrum, or saw, came out of the water. It resembles a garden tool and on an outsized ray it will do to four or five feet long. The fish uses it within the wild by swinging it back and forth through a faculty of little baitfish. A whack from the saw can stun atiny low fish permitting the ray to select it up from rock bottom since its mouth is found on the undersurface of the big fish. They conjointly eat crustaceans and alternative bottom-dwelling organisms.

The ray is truly terribly closely associated with stingrays, not most sharks, however is usually caught victimization an equivalent strategies. They inhabit Everglade State waters, however their population numbers within the wild ar a mere fraction of what their numbers were before pioneer families one hundred twenty years agone began fishing coastal waters with nets.


Let it go

Cangianella freed the ray from its hook while not removing it from the water, and also the ray swam off healthy and powerful. when the distinctive encounter, they kicked off for an additional spot with totally different bait wherever Atherton landed some Spanish mackerel.


Unfortunately, his dream of catching a shark wasn't completed. However, he might have not imaginary he would catch one thing thus rare and mysterious as a ray.


Another skipper with Fin & Fly charters, Capt. Parker Miley, steered a Wisconsin family to a ray catch within the same space in August 2021. Another angler in 2021 encountered a healthy ray within the Indian watercourse lagune in Brevard County.


Call it a comeback

Smalltooth sawfish will grow to regarding sixteen feet long. they're one in every of 5 ray species worldwide and also the solely ray species found in Everglade State waters. traditionally, the species was found on the U.S. geographic region and throughout the Gulf of North American nation, as well as the waters of the Indian watercourse lagune, Charlotte Harbor and also the swampland.


But ray become simply entangled in fishing nets utilized by industrial fishers seeking alternative targeted species. Since the first decade, ray populations have declined dramatically. Sadly, they became the primary marine fish species listed as vulnerable in 2003 beneath the U.S. species Act.


What to try to to if you catch a ray

All ray caught in U.S. waters should be discharged unhurt straightaway, otherwise you might face federal charges.

Keep ray within the water the least bit times.

If it will be done safely, untangle the road if it's wrapped round the saw and take away the maximum amount of the road as potential.

Cut the road as near to the hook as potential.

Do not handle the animal or plan to take away any hooks on the saw unless you have got a long de-hooker.

Do not take away stage, or saw.