Comments: My brother forwarded this email, but the location was in OCEAN SHORES, WA.  We are going camping in Ocean Shores in about 3 weeks, so I found it funny.  Of course the area code on the machinery tipped it off that it was not in Washington.  Thanks for the confirmation.  Here's a link to the story:  http://thumb9.webshots.net/t/5
webmaster comment.. the above addres does not work but a similar is at ....http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/412235434KxsBuC

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxx
Sent: December 9, 2004 13:00 PM
To: xxxxxxxxx
Subject: FW: DON'T GO SWIMMING IN BARKLEY SOUND
See what real men can catch xxxxxxx, just received this from my father in law,not sure when it
happened...............................YIKES.
xxxxxxxx is going to do all the swimming from now on, xxxxxx.
>
>> Hi xxxx!
>>
>> Thought you'd like to see this example of a marine hazard.  Not one
>> you'd likely forget!  Cheers, xxxx
>>
>> Subject: FW: DON'T GO SWIMMING IN BARKLEY SOUND.
>>>>> PORT ALBION, UCLUELET:
>>>>> While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing for
>>>>> dogfish, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only
>>>>> resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long
>>>>> enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope around it's tail !!! 'And
>>>>> that's when the s**t hit the fan!!  The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing
>>>>> boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the
>>>>> boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as
>>>>> the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went
>>>>> on for an hour before the shark finally drowned.  She weighed in at 1035 LBS.
>>>>> It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in
>>>>> search of food.  Although mid 60 deg. water is considered ideal for
>>>>> these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s.
>>>>>
Then to give credibility to the story the originator attached copies of this years Yarmouth Shark Scramble 2004. 
 recordsh1.jpg 
 recordsh2.jpg

Date: 12/20/2004
Name: The Old Viking
Location: Crofton, BC
E-Mail: oldviking@shaw.ca

Comments: I picked up on the name of the town right away - Port Albion instead of Port Alberni.  It made for a good laugh.  I have replied to the fellow that sent it to me and there are dozens of names on the list, so your guest book might start filling up soon.

The Old Viking

Comments: I received this same message through government sources, both federal and provincial (BC), and though the telephone number on the lift is a Nova Scotia number, it isn't entirely out of place to find a great white on the west coast.  It also didn't seem out of place to find equipment produced on the east coast but possibly used on both coasts nor is the fog identifiable as east coast fog v/s west coast fog.  Port Albion is a legitimate port, across the bay from Uclelet in Barkley Sound, and did not raise any flags.  Our biggest clue that this might be a hoax is that it certainly would have made the local news and none of our aquaintences, many who fish or dive on the west coast, had heard anything about this occurrence. Gotta love a good story!

Comments: I have just recieved this e-mail from My brother In Kitimat...all the same thing but instead it's noted with Kitimat BC meaning it's the Douglas CHannel....about 150 miles inland.  It got me though as I could have sworn I new the guys standing next to the fish....Maybe you just want to believe it's true.

Comments: Prior to moving to Quadra Island I was a fisheries observer in the area that the aforementioned critter was reported to be caught. Having been on all of the docks in that area at one time or another, the dock in the picture didn't look familiar unless someone had done a major overhaul in the recent past.  The rest of the story seemed very plausible though. We even went so far as to call some friends who are still in the area and see if they'd heard anything about it. 

Yes, there is a place called Port Albion and you would think someone from Crofton would know that before assuming it was a play on "Port Alberni". It is "across the Bay" from Ucluelet.

Good joke and my hat's off to the creator.

Comments: Great e-mail but noticed right away that area code 902 was NOT in B.C.
Just goes to show you that you can't believe anything you read and only half of what you see.

Comments: I received the email in Yellowknife, from my brother in Victoria. I have heard of great whites being caught off the west coast in Canada before, so I partially believed it. But I looked for a news article about it on the web, and found this site instead.

Comments: I'm quite relieved to hear the good news that it was on the East Coast. As a local surfer it was a little worring, especially as we surf in Barkley Sound at times too.
Map of area

Comments: I saw the story about the shark. I would consider it a semi-hoax, or a story that took on a life of it's own. The shark isn't that big. The phone number on the lift machine rental on the dock belongs to:

Halifax Equipment (and several other similar businesses with the same address)
185 Akerley Boulevard, Dartmouth, NS B3B2B1
(902)481-3455 

Date: 12/29/2004
Name: ribeyre
Location: cave city kentucky
E-Mail: 

Comments: this reached me because I am from the area mentioned in the hoax

Comments: I received the spoof about the great white shark today. I found it interesting because I go sea kayaking in Barkley Sound every year and am planning taking my grandkids there for a holiday next summer. I'm glad this is only a spoof!

Comments: As we live in the area, I was sent this story by a few friends.  I pointed out to friends that they only needed to look the phone number up that was displayed in one photo.  I also looked the name of the fish plant up that appears on the fish tub.  Nova Scotia!
OUR FISH ARE BIG IN PORT ALBERNI! 
COME CHECK OUT THE SALMON!

Date: 12/30/2004
Name: Debbie
Location: Vancouver Island
E-Mail: debbie_471@hotmail.com

Comments: when i got this e-mail i showed my sons and they kept saying it is all bull.... i am glad it is bull
thank you for clearing this up

Comments: I just dragged my brother in here to look at it. I fear sharks..fear them and to know they were off the coast scared the bejesus outta me. GLAD TO KNOW it was not here!!!

Comments: I received this email from a girlfriend in Calgary,not sure where she got it from though. Funny that it is a hoax.My boyfriends uncle had just told us a story of a fishing boat in the Ucuelet area catching a shark . I wonder if this is what he was talking about???? I was sure he said he was in the area when it happened so who knows.

Comments: I am a surfer, I live on the East Coast of Vancouver Island. I have been surfing this coast for a long time and have heard of stories of great whites off the coast of Vancouver Isl.  This story was sent to me by a concerned friend.  I was a bit suspicious because I hadn't heard anything on the grapevine nor read anything in the local newspapers so I checked on the net and found this site. Will pass it on to the West Coast Surfer's site and then the ball will roll.

Comments: got the shark tale e-mail as if it was set in Kitimat B.C..  I was always taught to research and question things, which brought me to your web site.  I now know that it is still safe to swim in Kitimat.

Date: 12/31/2004
Name: bearingbeater
Location: courtenay,B.C
E-Mail: bb@hotmail.ca

Comments: Got this article yesterday and immediately smelled it as a dead rat. As a fisherman/diver I know we have had the great whites off the west coast but that one is a beauty.They have been here when the El Nino currents are here, and that wasn't this year. I saw pictures of a smaller one caught of the coast by a couple of the local guys years ago. 
Too bad, a shark like that seen underwater would be a tale to tell for a lucky diver!Maybe better yet from the safety of the boat!

Comments: I am orginally from the Island so this story caught my eye. It was posted on our local web page. I phoned a friend who lives there to ask her what she heard about it. She said this story was in the local paper and they said it was a prank. I investigated further and long and behold I found this site.

Comments: Hey funny that this is a hoax.
I was reading the local web host news and this story was on the front page with the picture and title "fish story with proof" its not just an email anymore its front page news!! the site is www.castanet.net

Comments: Sent to me by well meaning friends in Nanaimo, who knew I had recently moved from the west coast of Vancouver Island.  My virus protection software is set on "high" and had deleted part of the incoming message.  That made me suspicious, so I did some research and found your site.  Saw many Six Gill Sharks, and even a couple of Blue Sharks in Barkley Sound.  Seeing a Great White would have been the extreme thrill, from the deck of the boat.  Congratulations on a wonderful website, made for some very interesting reading.

Comments: Didn't believe it for a moment so I Googled it and found your website within about 2 minutes of first getting the email.  Port Albion was one tip but we also would have heard about it locally by now, not to mention time spent at Bamfield doing marine biology via UVic had me skeptical about the possibility.  Cheers, Sean

Comments: thought it was to good to be true

Comments: got us thinking but area code gave it away 

Comments: Well, its made it to Toronto. I was so surprised, I had to see if it was for real. Nice one!

Comments: Didn't know if it was true though thought I'd pass it on as a laugh since we hear of ancient Fraser River sturgeon which are huge. Went to a number of folk throughout North America

Comments: It was posted onto yahoogroups surfski newsgroup this morning...  My email hoax antennae started quivering even though it didn't have the "send this to all your friends" phrase that signals the usual email hoax...

Comments: Received a copy of the myth from my brother who lives in Thailand. The story is going around the globe.
Cheers

Got this from my Dad in Maple Bay, BC.  Seemed a bit implausible so I googled for the answer and found your site.
Glad to hear it's BS.

Comments: I'm a skeptic at the best of times it seems, and certainly mindful of potential urban mythology, which has a found a place on the net in many forms it seems. 

I Googled 'great white in uculet' (even spelt it wrong...Google offered it's typical correction)...anyways...there you is and there it was.

Nice though...pretty sure it caught the guy who sent it to me.

Comments: Gotta love a good fish story

Comments: When I received this e-mail I didn't beleive. I live on the west coast and it would have hit the news here.  Also, the phone number on the crane has a Nova Scotia area code.

Comments: It didn't fool Rob because he saw the phone number on the crane and discovered it was a Nova Scotia area code.  But it did make me second guess our next surfing trip to Tofino.  But not anymore, SURFS UP!

Jen

Date: 1/12/2005
Name: Scooter
Location: Calgary
E-Mail: ssimpson@quadraenergy.com

Comments: this myth freaked out my girlfriend... we had surfed in Ucluelet this summer... she is desparately afraid of sharks.

Comments: I like urban legends!

Got the e-mail on the north part of Vancouver island a couple of days ago - a friend of mine (who is from Halifax) noticed the exchange phone number on the truck and asked me about it - I said I did not know but several DFO officers had confirmed they had heard about it also so it must be accurate - however, it is not that uncommon to find the odd one or two in the charlottes and was confirmed by one of the DFO people who had seen them . 

Comments: I got freaked because we just saw a sealion in Tofino, the best surfplace in BC. I'm stoked it's not great white's there too!

Date: 1/17/2005
Name: Debbie
Location: Vancouver, BC
E-Mail: diverdebbie@hotmail.com

Comments: I didn't think it was true.  Our waters are pretty cold for a white, especially at this time of the year. I've never heard of one here.  It's only 37 degrees off Vancouver right now.  Besides, there's a phone number on a piece of equipment in the picture and it isn't the area code for either the lower mainland or Vancouver Island. 

Comments: I just thought that it was unlikely that a shark could tow a 42 foot boat backwards through the water at 7 knots, as the e-mail said.

Comments: i got it

Comments: Hi there fellow fisherman,
A special thanks to Beachcomer for giving me the address for this site,so far from what I have seen it is going to be very interesting to be communicating with people that have the same thing in common (fishing)Bravo to the people that put this site together.
Best Regards,
Yvon Thibault

Date: 1/18/2005
Name: Cooper's 
Location: Brantford, Ontario 
E-Mail: 

Comments: I loved the story!...One question ?  why kill it ?? ok I lied two questions would it have eventually left those waters for warmer ones ??

Comments: The forklift has a Nova Scotia area code

Comments: This was sent among a group of us who go fishing on the West Coast of Van Isle. Sure got my attention, but the telephone area code on the boom got my attention so I searched and found your site. A good tale gone bad!

Comments: I saw this at my local fishmonger's shop.  I'm sorry to hear it's not true as it nearly gave my seafaring brother a heart attack.  I suppose that was worth it!

Comments: Rec'd from a friend in Maple Bay, B.C.

Comments: god am I glad to hear that its just a fish tail!!! My b/f and I were about to go scuba diving near there!!!!!

Comments: Great story. Having surfed and paddled in the Tofino area over the years of course I was interested.  Did some research and found this site.  My comment is - wow the guy that decided to lasso this thing must have some large balls.  No matter how cool I think great white sharks are I can't see myself roping this fish as things can go wrong enough out there in the winter.  Cheers

Comments: Had me fooled until I realized there is no Port Albion in Uclulet

Comments: Hi there, I got this email (not the first time), but now it says that the shark was caught in UCUELET, BC - here it is......
So much for swimming in the Ocean around  B.C's West Coast !!!! 
> 
>UCLUELET, B.C. 
>(West side of Vancouver Island) 
>======================================================================== 
>While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing for dogfish, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope around it's tail !!! 'And that's when the s**t hit the fan!!. The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots.   Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times.This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned.  She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 deg. water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. 

Now, the one thing that made me think it wasn't BC, was the (902) area code on the hoist.  So when I found out where (902) was, I googled the story and came up with you!
What a story!

Date: 1/24/2005
Name: Bear
Location: Victoria B.C
E-Mail: 

Comments: Email was received through a friend and cast immediate doubt. Thanks to your website the truth has been revealed and once again I can sleep at night.

Comments: We loved the little campsite on the hill in Lunenburg!

Comments: I received the urban legend email from a friend trying to scare me as I am going diving in BC soon!

Comments: HUGE!  Thats so awesome - almost a shame to kill but where theres one - well, I wont be taking a swim there!
Actually we get GW's all along the west coast but still - havent seen a catch like it!
Congratulations!

Comments: Why do people feel they need to do something like this...
Bored people should get out and walk around the block before their back ends get as big as their heads!

Thanks for clearing this all up.

Comments: I received the SHARK from Ucluelet email yesterday and got suspicious.  I searched the internet and found the site that set it straight...it is still pretty amazing that such a huge shark was caught off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Comments: Funny.  Noticed the phone number on the crane arm immediately as not a B.C. area code.  Emailed my person to trace back.

Comments: 

Comments: was shocked and believed it.  Should have seen the number on the crane. . . Yeah, can go swimming in ocean again!

Comments: bastards had me goin to all my friends about it....

Comments: I got this email saying it was caught in barkley sound, then i read up on this, so yeah, just lettin ya know.

Comments: I noticed the 902 area code on the lift, and knew it wasn't true anyway...

Comments: just got this email--thought it sounded funky-googled your site, and found the truth!

Comments: Got it from a former boss in Sitka, Alaska.

Comments: Hi there! 

I received the hoax email of the "great white" shark caught near Ucluelet from someone in my office. I'm quite suspicious of these sorts of emails boasting fantastic accomplishments, pictures, "world records" etc. I first checked to see if Ucluelet has an online version of their newspaper to determine if the story was in there. No luck. I then did the next obvious, typing in the name of the boat into "Google" and found your website! I also looked closely at the photos and something didn't "sit right" with me. The one of the shark on the forklift didn't look right for a great white. So I researched it and found another photo on the Florida Museum of Natural History website! (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/ShortfinMako/Shortfinmako.html)

I have sent the information of the hoax email to a US website in case it shows up there. Does anyone know of a similar Canadian website which lists hoaxes?

Cheers!

Jackie
Webmaster Comment:  Maybe  someone who reads this can answer your question about Canadian Websites.  I sent a copy to www.snopes.com. 

Comments: SHARK - I am from Montreal and now live in Vancouver.  I knew the Great White was a hoax - The area code on the crane/forklift is 902...
 

Randy

In December 2004 I set a letter to  www.snopes.com explaining how this legend got started and gave this page as an account of how the hoax spread.  They did look at the page and post it  with the pictures of the shark. Snopes is an excellent site and I commend Barbara and David P. Mikkelson for the great job they are doing on a site that must demand a lot of time and effort.   However the clip from  http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/yarmouth.asp   may leave one with the wrong impression.
 

On Feb. 2, 2005 I contacted Snopes to inform them about this.  I hope they have the time to expand on this story and possibly make a link to this page so that they can have a more complete documentation of the origin and spread of this  urban legend.

Date: 2/1/2005
Name: Jo
Location: courtenay ,BC (vancouver isl)
E-Mail: 

Comments: I've passed this e-mail to all the commercial seafood divers (of which my husband is one)on the west coast of vancouver island (barkley)  It took some time for some to get back into the water the next day.  Thanks  jo

Comments: My business partner, who owns a fishing cabin in the Port Alberni area, received this tale from one of his friends.
 

Comments: 

Comments: I work for the feds and this came to me from a collegue in Campbell River and had gone out to a lot of people. I surfed to find out if it was true via google. I too, could not believe it hadn't been on the top of the news here locally. Good one though and shows how fast emails travel and how quickly they can be deemed as 'true'. 

Date: 2/4/2005
Name: dark star
Location: victoria b.c.
E-Mail: s.craven@shaw .ca

Comments: some people refuse to believe the hoax... see following e mail from my brothers friend
 
 

Dark star can call what he wants. This is the third case I have heard of concerning Great Whites in our waters. First was a fisherman off River's Inlet that lost a huge salmon right beside the boat to one. Second was a fellow I saw interviewed on TV who saw one off Seattle, he was actually a marine biologist who had studied Great White's. He said he knew there would be doubters who would claim he really saw another type of shark similar to a White (can't remember what kind) but he was very confident it was White having studied them for years and knowing the difference.

No doubt in my mind as to the location (look at the fog). Or is it a plastic shark? Pretty good fake blood on the teeth.

I say Dark Star is a doubting Thomas. I'll bet he doesn't even know that there is commercial Tuna industry off the West Coast of BC offshore where the warm currents come up. Thinking about taking a run out there this summer, you have to go about 50 miles out. If there's Tuna why not GreatWhites?

happy weekend, almost...
this is a b.s. story from someone who wanted to drum up tourism in Ucluelet The shark is actually a large Mako, caught in the Atlantic ocean The "dawn raider" fished out of  yarmouth, nova scotia . the guy who caught it won the derby with it in august 2004

cheers, dark

Comments: An amazing article. 

Comments: I have recieved this email twice. Scary looking shark i must say!

Comments: 

I read about the shark catch on Snopes.com and I think it's disgusting... that shark was suffering for an entire hour before dying - the last 20 minutes of it a  combination of bleeding to death and drowning. Can't these people find a hobby that doesn't include the
torture of animals? 

-Hillary , USA

Comments: I got this email from a friend in Winnipeg!I hadn't heard anything in the news about it so figured it must be a hoax. I am glad it is....cougars, earthquakes, tsumamis...now great whites? ugh! I guess that is the price you have to pay for paradise!

Comments: Am somewhat peeved that some 'west-coast' hoser would try to assign credit for the mako shark catch to the wrong end of Canada.  That's definitely NOT how us canucks are supposed to behave, eh?

Comments: Your site tell me how much I misses and didnt see when we were in Yarmouth on vacation.  Interesting stories.  Thank you.

Comments: If this had been caught in Port Alberni, it would definitely have made the evening news here on the island. That's why I checked out google to see if it was true.

Comments: I LIVE in Yarmouth and today I received an e-amil from a fellow stained glasser from INDIANNA , questioning the validity of this story!

MAN how things fly or travel or walk or whatever, but these stories do get around!

I do know it is true and it did happen right here in Yarmouth,  the Captain of the boat, standing back to in the first photo happens to be my husbands cousin, Bernard Tedford.
Altho he was not personally responsible for the "catch" , a crewman of the boat was.
Yarmouth is very proud of it's fisherman and so we are all"sticking" up for this Yarmouthonians historical "CATCH"!
GREAT WORK GUYS!
V.Morton

Comments: With a 902 area code it was the only way I knew something was wrong, B.C. [including Barkley Sound ]has several codes  604, 250, 778, but none are 902, only Nova Scotia.That brings me to your page.

Comments: With a 902 area code it was the only way I knew something was wrong, B.C. [including Barkley Sound ]has several codes  604, 250, 778, but none are 902, only Nova Scotia.That brings me to your page.

Comments: A friend of mind here in  Indiana sent me the picture.I have a friend who lives in Yarmouth Nova Scotia ,I sent it to her and  she said it was a true story.She also stated that the captain of the boat was her husbands cousin.I thought that was wow!!

Comments: Hook, line and sinker - you had me fooled, ye gits! LIke an eejit I went and forwarded it to The South Africa White Shark Research Institute, of which I'm a member. Now I'll have to retract adn so they'll know I'm an eejit too.

Comments: I work at Gundie's Inc. in Bellingham Washington, and our whole work place was twittering about this particular "BC" shark story. I suspected a hoax myself. Thanks for confirming. 

Comments: I received this e-mail a few days ago and was interested to find out more about the story, I guess now I know the truth.I'm going to e-mail the people I sent it to and tell them the truth about the story.
Thanks for the info

                                     Mike

Comments: By saying that the fish was caught in Barkley Sound, all we had had was some jerk trying to scare tourists away from the West Coast and ruin the local tourism economy.  After seeing "Jaws" a few times gullible American tourists tend to get pretty nervous when they see those kinds of pictures and they might just be put off on that kayaking or fishing holiday in Canada.... or go to Alaska where they know the water is too cold for Great Whites. 

Competition for tourism dollars is fierce, it's a lucartive business, and I wouldn't put it past any "out of area" operator to post such pictures to spread fear and misinformaion in order to create uncertanty about a visitors safety. Tourism is fickle and it doesn't take much to ruin the industry.... just look at what SARS did to tourism...  which was for the most part a no show. Just the media hype was all it took. 

Hoaxes are not funny... 
Webmaster Comment:  I totally agree with you.   If it could be traced back to the person who started the letter I think he should be prosecuted.   The purpose of this web page is to try and straighten up the misconception.  Thank you for your comment

Comments: I also received this email, however the pictures were blank but the description was there.  I was interested enough to go to Google to look for the pictures and happened upon your website.  It is Feb.27th 2005 and the email is still making the rounds, incorrectly.

Comments: Forget Dreamworks...this make believe "Shark's Tale" came through a friend in Vancouver. A skeptic at my office looked it up on your website and voila - myth debunked!

Comments: HI,
I'm from Annapolis Valley, NS, and would like to thank those responsible for correcting the false information on an awasome atlantic predator. First off, although we do have Great Whites off all the coast lines around Nova Scotia in mid to late summer (considered rare though), the shark pictured (probably caught off the southwestern part of the province) is not a Great White at all, its a shortfin mako. I have to agree with the bottom statement on the catch being almost ashame seeing as how she is obviously successful at surviving to attain such a large adult length.

Comments: this story got to me in Seattle.

Comments: Finishing up family history

Comments: Im still looking thanks

Comments: Great site Deb

Comments: Stumbled upon this site while surfing the net. Funny how a story can get bent out of shape so badly. I am from the Yarmouth area and was in Yarmouth that day. It was quite the sight to see that shark up close as the pictures barely do it justice. Also there is the fact that all sharks caught in the shark derby were mako's and no great white's were caught.

Comments: I got the e-mail recently and was a little skeptical so I googled it and found this website. I wasn't going to brush it off completely because I saw a photo at the BC Sportfishing Museum of a 15 foot long Great White caught in the 1930's I believe. It was caught in the Fraser River right about where the George Massey Tunnel is now. After seeing that, I pull my crab traps in carefully!

Comments: I showed the email and pictures to my wife & right away she pronounced "...that's crap."  I went back to the  pictures and noticed the "902" area code on the crane.  Knowing that B.C. is "604" I became suspicious as well.  Eventually, I found this site.  Today, I got the email again from a friend in Vancouver BC.  It's the same goofy story about dragging the boat, but at least it takes place in Nova Scotia this time. . . and the shark was changed from a Great White to a Mako.

Comments: Got the "urban legend" email just today and easily found your site.  Thanks for the straight story.

I picked up the hoax from the phone number posted on the cherrypicker.... not a b.c. area code... looked it up and found a rental place out of dartmouth.just as suprised to know of big sharks there.   out.

Comments: If it looks like a hoax, and smells like a hoax... somewhere on the internet, there is a plausible explanation!

Comments: To funny,  having grown up on vancouver island i suspected a hoax.  Oh well  better luck next time.

Comments: To funny,  having grown up on vancouver island i suspected a hoax.  Oh well  better luck next time.

Comments: 

Date: 3/28/2005
Name: darlene
Location: prince george bc
E-Mail: darlene_1961@yahoo.com

Comments: Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 8:59 AM Subject: Caught off Ucluelet So much for swimming in the Ocean around here!!!! UCLUELET, B.C. (West side of Vancouver Island)

Comments: It was sent though our entire office, about 100 people!

Comments: I received an email (day before April Fools Day) that placed the catch near Ocean Shores WA.  Thought it unlikely that a crane located in Washington state would have a Prince Edward phone number on it, so I called the sender on it.  He replied with the link to this website.

Comments: Hello! Just thought I'd let you know the pics of your shark have reached Alberta, though now claiming the shark was caught off Port Alberni, BC. I check out Snopes and the article about the "Dawn Raider" catching a Great White while trolling for dogfish is the same but now the location is a mishmash of several places. The final tag on the email I received reads:

"Quite a catch near Port Alberni. DON'T GO SWIMMING IN BARKLEY SOUND - PORT ALBION, UCLUELET,  BC."

I guess BC was jealous!

Comments: I got this sent from my mom in Port Ludlow, WA. and it was claimed to have been caught off of Ocean Shores off the Washington coast. I was a bit skeptical, having been duped by previous urban legends so I searched a bit and came accross this site - the million dollar question is: How do I know THIS is the real deal??? HAHAHAHA!!!! Quite a shark. 

Comments: "OCEAN SHORES, WA 

While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing for dogfish, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope around it's tail !!! 'And that's when the s**t hit the fan!!. The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots.  Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched i! n ! horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned. 

She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 deg. water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. "

Comments: Unbeleivable! Does it really matter WHERE it was hooked, that is one VERY BIG, NAST SHARK!! I'm sure it was fun for few minutes for people around here to think it was caught off the coast of Ocean Shores, Washington (popular recreation area).

I suppose the next story will claim it was hooked near the hawaiin islands!

Comments: I thought that this was a hoax-I even tried to look it up on about.com-the place that I have found to have up-to-date info on hoaxes. They didn't have this picture.

The e-mail I got said that this shark was found in Ocean Shores, WA.  Antoher bell that sounded was there was no mention of the finding in any newspapers or news reports.

Comments: Haha...this was a good one.  Entertaining, even though it was fake.  Still a huge shark!  Wow.

Comments: god, this story came to me today... 4/13/05  saying it was caught in Ocean Shores, WA.
thanks for clearing this up..im from there originally and was totally amazed by it...

Comments: It seems the Great White Shark Story has made it to the shores of Washington State. "The Town of Ocean Shores, Washington" to be exact. Needles to say, as soon as I read the email I had to laugh, and find the true source of this story. Here it is:

So much for swimming in the Ocean around here!!!!

Comments: 

Comments: Well, the location of this shark catch, (same boat) has been moved to Ocean Shores WA.  Being a skeptic I had to look it up.  I love seeing the answers I get by being a skeptic!

Comments: Ha ha! As a resident of Grays Harbor, living about 25 miles away from Ocean Shores. It seems that some co-workers have been recieving this message and have been duped! I just could not believe that our newspaper would not have reported it. The paper I was shown, listed that the shark was caught off Ocean Shores. I glanced at it for only a moment, and then researched it when I got home from work and saw this website. I'm going to report to the office Monday morning and let my friends know, sadly they have been had! ha ha! lol 

Date: 4/17/2005
Name: richard sterling
Location: new orleans, la
E-Mail: rsterling6@cox.net

Comments: got the pictures about two weeks ago via email.

Comments: my boss got this shark email,  but it said it was caught at Ocean Shores, WA!  (I had a feeling it was a hoax!)

Comments: yes i got the email. the location had switched to westport, (i think that is in washington state or oregon), near ocean shores, washington. i suspected something right away as i recieve a lot of these urban legend type of emails. 

Comments: The story came as if it occured in Ocean Shores, WA. I never believe e-mail forwards unless I can verify with some sort of news report from an established news organization.

Comments: I was just sent the e-mail of the Great White story but the location has changed.  The one I recieved says that the shark towed the Dawn Raider off the coast of Washington in "Ocean Shores".  Again, uses the pictures of the shark caught in the Yarmouth tournament.

Comments: Looks like the story has migrated it's way south.  I received the same e-mail from a friend of mine in the city, maybe he wanted to scare me a little bit because I surf, or whatever.  Anyways, exact same story, exact same pictures, except the site locale was Ocean Shores, WA rather than BC.  Kind of funny, sometimes my friend likes to think he is privy to various, hard-to-find information, so I couldn't resist e-mailing him your website.  Thanks for the dose of truth.  Mahalo

Comments: I received this "urban legend" email from someone last week saying "Don't go swimming in Ocean Shores!" implying the shark had been just caught in Ocean Shoes, Washington (about 2 hours directly west from Seattle). It was so obvious to me that it had to be false on so many levels, not the least of which is because we have a beach house there, we know there isn't that short of dock anywhere, we never get that kind of fog and the phone number on the crane is all wrong. Thank goodness for Google that we were able to send the details back to the sender and let them know they ought to check these things out before redistributing them.

Comments: I got the one about the same shark caught in Ocean Shores, Washington, USA.

Comments: received from a friend in Seattle where it supposedly happenned

Comments: My boss received this hoax.  It said it was from Ocean Shores, WA.  I questioned the area code... didn't sound right.  And ran across your page.  Thought I would add too.

Comments: The story came as if the shark was caught off of our coast.  The 902 area code on the lift is the dead give away.

Comments: I just received the email from my wife who works in a local school district.  Apparently the location of the events have changed again.  This time to Ocean Shores, WA.  I was quite suspicious as I usually follow local news events such as this.  Funny the email is circulating quickly in this area.  I think it went through a substantial portion of the school district already.  :->

Comments: I got this as being caught near Ocean Shores, Wa.  In the late 60's, a large great white was caught inside the bar at Grays Harbor by a Westport, WA commercial fisherman.  The shark was mounted by a taxidermist and was at the Westport Aquarium for some time.  I don't know where it is now, but it was a very large Great White.  You can check the archives of the Aberdeen Daily World newspaper for the story.

Comments: that's pretty scarry that u can't even go swimming now that there's a shark in the water that's crazy us nova scotian's are lucky we don't have any sharks in the harbour.

Comments: It's insterting to see how people can change a new story and make it fit there owns

Date: 5/4/2005
Name: Audrey Deveau (Pinkney)
Location: Barriere, B.C.
E-Mail: adeveau@telus.net

Comments: Good job and a great idea.

Comments: This story was forwarded to me but the location was changed to Ocean Shores, WA.  Good story!

Jerry

Comments: A buddy sent me an email with the story claiming the shark was caught off of Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. I bought it hook, line and sinker for a few minutes, but hadn't seen anything on the news about it. Did a search and came up with your site, and a few others. Emailed my friend and told him it was safe to go back in the water! LOL.

Comments: I'm from Washington state and as soon as I saw this I knew the shark did NOT come from the Washington coast.  Wasn't sure if it was real or not, so I started looking and viola!  You were at the top spot in my google!  I received it from someone in Twin Falls, ID who received it from someone in Provo, UT.  Before that, who knows.

Here's a twist on the "fish story".  Made is all the way to Ocean Shores in Western Washington State. The reply is from my sister-in-law, who lives in western WA, and gave me the link to your site. 

Gerry Armstrong

Newman Lake (Spokane) WA
From: daffyd2002@comcast.net 
To: "Gerald Armstrong" <gerald.armstrong@worldnet.att.net>, "Vikki L (Valley) Turnbow" <VikkiLou@aol.com>, "Michelle Hunt" <michellehunt@gmail.com>, "Bonnie Armstrong" <flutterbies2002@comcast.net> 
Subject: Re: Fw: Ocean Shores, Washington 
Date: Wed, 4 May 2005 16:39:55 +0000 
 

This appears to be a spoof based on a real story.  It didn't happen in Ocean Shores.  http://www.yarmouth.org/magazine/urban.htm

-------------- Original message -------------- 

Since you all live over there I was curious if you'd heard or seen anything of this.  I am always skeptical of "fish stories".  You'd think that this would have made the news even here in Spokane. I never heard a thing.
Gerry

Comments: I received the email from our brother in law.  He said he received it from a friend.  The story was changed by saying the shark was caught by a gentleman out of westport washington. He is a joker so I did a little investigating and found this web sight.  It was a good laugh any way.

Comments: I heard this exact same thing....some of my teachers received this email the other day...except it was caught in Ocean Shores, WA on Monday morning.

Comments: Received it from a friend.....was curious because I thought it looked more like a mako than a white shark.  Cheers.
Ryan

Comments: I received the message, but the location had changed to WA...waiting to see it come around again, but with southern california as the location! 

Washington oceans.

So much for swimming in the Ocean around here  !!!! 

OCEAN SHORES, WA 

While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing for dogfish, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope around it's tail !!! 'And that's when the s**t hit the fan!!. The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots.  Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. 

Comments: It came to me as "Don't Swim At Ocean Shores Washington".  Obviously moving down the coast from Canada, and all the Barkley Sound and other West Coast references.  I was bit suspisious right away and went to snopes.com where I found the truth and the link to this site.  Maybe I will send it out and insert the name of a local lake and see how long it takes to get back to me...

Comments: Just got the phooto & story re: Ocean Shores, WA - Great White - from a friend in Spokane, WA.  The friend had just spent the weekend & forwarded it when he arrived home as an FYI.  I was skeptical, so "googled":  Ocean Shoes, WA Great White Shark & eventually got to this place.
Peace - 
Sully

Comments: Just got the email.  This time it claimed the shark was caught outside of Gray's Harbor in Washington state.

Comments: When I got this e-mail saying the shark had been caught in WA state, what tipped me off to the possibility of it being a legend was the lack of a date. As an old newspaper lady, that seemed suspicious. Thanks for this great website that sets records straight. Regardless, this is an incredible shark!!

Comments: My sister-in-law from Phoenix Arizona sent it to me, but this time saying it was Ocean Shores Washington...same story! 

Comments: Funny! Now I want some tuna!

Comments: I received this email, although the places and names in it have now been changed to reflect the original Yarmouth story.  The embellishments about the shark towing the boat and such are still included.  Also one of the photos now has a copywrite stamp on it from the "Canadian Shark Research Lab".

Comments: Got it yesterday. We do on occasion have Great Whites follow El Nino into B.C. waters. Story stated it was caught at Uculet B.C.

Comments: I got the email today, except they changed the location of the capture to Ocean Shores Washington.

Comments:   Hi, my e-mail had the same story about the fishing vessel, but it said that it was off Ocean Shores, Washington USA.
  I was skeptical of this far-fetched story, so I decided to do a little internet research & that's how I found your site.
  I don't know who started this one...the e-mail was forwarded to me by by brother in Reno, Nevada.

Comments: Wow...It's amazing how stories get so twisted. A funny thing is that my sister married a Calgarian this summer, during the time of the shark scramble. Alot of his family and friends all came down for the wedding.Those pictures look alot like the pictures that his uncle took, while he was down here...but then again, alot of people were snapping pictures when that shark was caught! Interesting...maybe when they visit Calgary this summer they will tell the real story.

Comments: SHARK....I RECEIVED THIS EMAIL, ONLY IT READ "DON'T GO FISHING AT OCEAN SHORES, WASHINGTON. I ALWAYS INVESTIGATE SUSPICIOUS LOOK EMAILS.  YOU CAN'T BELEIVE EVERYTHING
YOU READ....

Comments: Got this email about the shark but could not open the attached pictures.  Curiousity got me searching the internet to find the pics.  Amazing what can get started on the internet.

Comments: This email finally made its way to me-- stating that the sharky was caught in Ocean Shores, WA!!! Yeah, an email can really get around!

Comments: A little 10 footer (the Mako on the forklift), hardley seems very troubling to me.  Ride the waves, surf and enjoy the beach.. You really are very safe.  I have been pulled, tugged, pushed and bumped on a surf board but never eaten for lunch as of yet by a shark.  Human just isn't tasty enough.
=Gimp=
http://www.dovico.com 

Comments: This story was sent to my co-worker about a great white that was caught off the shores of Washington in Ocean Shores.  Funny, huh?  People just keep plugging in the different cities.  This shark sure got around! :)

Comments: The story I received said the shark was caught off Ocean Shores Wa. The story was exactly the same as the one from Vancouver Island, BC. 

Comments: www.forumsforums.com  Great information.  I had a feeling that the pictures and story were a hoax combined..  thanks for giving the true details....... 

Comments: I too got the phony shark email and found your site while investigating the validity.  Just signing the book.

Comments: The story is still circulating in BC, Canada.  Received it from my sister & found your site while investigating its validity.  Just wanted to sign the guest book & say HI!

Date: 11/21/2006
Name: Brooke
Location: Port Hardy, BC
E-Mail: andrewbk@island.net

Comments: Shark

Hey there.  I bought the legend; also shared it with a dozen friends!

Cheers,
Brooke

Comments: I am glad they killed the damd thing.
I hate swimming with them.
Dale Gray - Hunter, Fisherman, Naturalist, Ocean Sailor.

Date: 11/23/2006
Name: 
Location: NANAIMO, BC
E-Mail: 

Comments: My brother in Ottawa sent the e-mail about the great white,askin' if it was true...

Comments: SHARK. I was duped by this one. My friend is a great sleuth and looked it up on Snopes.  I should have known that such an event would have been published locally. So I sent out the news that it was a fraud on the west coast but it was true for the east. I had wondered about the Sharks bleedy mouth since nothing was mentioned in the the false story.
I liked it that the fisher said he would have released it, not that I am a shark fan but perpetuation of a significant scavenger/predator is important.

Comments: mmm....received this from my cousin from Prine George BC yesterday....noticed the area code and phone number on the crain...did'nt jive...but what great pictures...

Date: 11/24/2006
Name: Lou
Location: White Rock B.C.
E-Mail: loutbo@hotmail.com

Comments: I recieved this email from a friend that works in the wholesale fishing industry. The story was still being passed around at 11;30 am thursday. I just sent this to them and I'm sure that they will have a good chuckle. They probably already had visions of cashing in on shark orders.

Comments: a friend sent it to me and I questioned it right away when I noted the phone number on the crane. Googled it and was right!! So I replied to my friend which start the hunt for the real story. The next clue was his turn which was on the fish tubs were "SIF LTD" again another lead that lead me here.
A great chase but still a nice catch for the guys who did do all the real work.

Date: 11/25/2006
Name: James
Location: Victoria
E-Mail: j-acampbell@shaw.ca

Comments: Too many things in the story dont make sense. First, this is not a great white. Anyone who watches enough Discovery channel would know this. Second, the phone number...Ya!
Then there is the commercial fishing for dog fish.....sure one of BC's biggest exports. Now how about a shark towing a 42 foot boat backwards at seven knots. You know that would take at least a 300 hp diesel engine to do that!
Not to mention the fact that it never made any local news.
I am amazed that I am seeing this almost two years after the first time I saw it. Glad to see your site is calling the bluff!

Comments: Just thought I'd add my name to the list as recipient of the Great White Shark story via e-mail. My message said it was caught in Uculuet,  BC (!)

Comments: The hoax is still circulating. Just viewed it for the 1st time today. 27 Nov 2006

Comments: It's November 2006 and I just rec'd this email, I had a hunch it was B.S> and traced the phone # from the forklift too Dartmouth BNovia Scotia, after some google-ing I found the truth to this story, Being an Aussie and have seen my fair share of Great Whites I knew a G.W of the B.C coast was complete BS, because Whales & Orcas would gang up on this predator in no time.

Date: 11/28/2006
Name: Grantham
Location: North Pole, Alaska
E-Mail: noraed@alaska.net

Comments: I recieved the e-mail concerning the shark from a friend in Bellinham, Washington. I have no idea where it came from before that.

Comments: I am such a loser, I actually believed it... not enough to go telling everyone about it, I first wanted to read up on it to make sure it was factual and thank god I did cuz thanks to you guys I know it was faulse. But hey can someone get a hold of that jamie guy?? That is one massive catch and i would like to hear the story behind it!!!
Thanks, Meg

Comments: Sounded kinda "fishy" when I was sent the email by a friend. It caught my interest because we were out in Ucluelet last yeare for some halibut/salmon fishing.

Comments: As a former Island resident, I was intriged upon recieving the email, but alas it is from the right coast! Is funny how long this has been going around and I'm sure some it will contiune to be from Ukke for years to come! 

Good on y'all!

Comments: thought as much. another false story.
but got my husband going on it.
just about to tell him it was a hoax.
great shark pic!

Comments: Thought it was a little far fetched but we do have small blue sharks here

Comments: Got this email from a friend in Mission, B.C., today (Jan. 28/07)pretty much word for word as the one on your site. Thought it was a fantastic story so I googled the name of the ship and shark and found several links (including yours) stating the facts.

Comments: This photo was just brought into our meat martket here in Cle Elum, Wa.  (Owens Meats) by a local who does underwater log recovery. He told us that this shark was caught up in some hooks and cable line from a commercial dogfisherman and he responded to a radio call and asked for his help.  Jim Smith told us that he responded and hoisted the fish onto his boat with a cable wrapped around it's head up the ramp of his old naval torpedo recovery boat, which is 70 feet long and that while it was being drug up the ramp it was rocking his boat as the shark was going crazy just prior to dying. Jim pointed out that it was him standing next to the shark on the dock, which honestly looked just like him. This all happened inside Grays Harbor by West Port Washington.  Jim told us that the shark was a great white and measured 15 feet long. We enjoyed the story untill coming across your web page. 

Comments: (Shark Bullshit)... I have caught a great white ..fisherman
who play this game of fakes do nothing for research !
  As a member of N.O.A.A. and Dept. of Fisheries program at Bedford Institute of Oceanography shark tagging program...This is a disgrace for research ! A short fin mako and a great white may appear similar , but the fin and the snout plus color should be obvious !

Comments: I just received the email about the shark from my cousin in California.  Thought it was weird that she would of heard of this before me when I live close to Ocean Shores and go there a couple of times a year. So I emailed her to ask when this happened and she suggested me to google it and i found this site.  Glad to hear it isn't true!

Comments: I am a fisherwoman and a shark lover and wanted to know a little more about the story so I googled and your site came up. I know nothing about the areas they were talking about so nothing about the towns really tipped me off that this was a gag. The sotry itself warrented more investigation. It goes to show you can't believe everything you read on the internet. I'd sure like to know the real fishing story(Are there real fishing stories?)that involved that shark. I bet it was a blast!

Comments: We received this but it is for Ocean Shores, Washington - hum, that's a ways from Nova Scotia!!

Comments: I have property close to Ocean Shores.  By was glad to find this was a hoax!

Comments: Apparently this story will never die, I just received it yesterday from my dad.  The story said it was from Ocean Shores, Washington.  My co-workers and I were suspicious so we googled it, and found your website.

Comments: just received the shark tail for Ocean Shores, Wa.
always try to check these stories out.

Comments:   Just got the same story and pics., except it was supposed to have happened in Ocean Shores, Washington State.  I love looking these type of shocking forwarded emails up and then sending the truthful info back to the one who sent it to me.  Ocean Shores is freezing most of the time, and is extremely shallow for a LONG way out, so I don't think it'll have a major impact on swimming there, anyway.

Comments: I just got the "Ocean Shores" version from a friend and was skeptical, then I noticed the phone number on the hoist.  Typing it into the Dogpile search engine brought me here (#1 hit).

Good 'un

Comments: I am the photographer who shot the picture of that shark on the forklift three years ago and have watched the wildfire circulation of my work with both amusement and alarm. It's been an excellent example of the unimportance connected with who shoots a notable image.
I have tracked down all unauthorized uses of it on the Internet (at least two dozen that I know of) and contacted webmasters requesting they add my name as the photographer. Thankfully, almost all have complied, including the owner of this website. Why are things like this important to photographers of powerful photographs?
I own the original high res version of this file and continue to be contacted for its use by publications and film companies. It has appeared in Maxim, the L.A.Times, Prank Patrol and several sports fishing magazines.
This shark continues to live.

Comments: I just got the ocean shores hoax too.  I picked up on it right away due to the area code on the winch holding the shark.  It was not a Washington area code.  I looked up the area code and then googled nova scotia great white and found this site.  :)

comments;i am the captain of the boat" pembroke princess "who caught the shark three years ago , in Yarmouth Nova Scotia , Canada <Jamie was my son in law  I,m amazed at how this shark has traveled the internet world wide , and how people will take something like this and twist the stories & pictures around to their advantage,we <the crew >have the real story , on board  pictures never seen , 
IF it wasn,t for our whole crew ,their wouldn,t be the shark <our shark>

Comments: I ma an emergency manager for a small community.  I get these hoax emails all the time.  I just love mythbusting them.  By the way, WOW, what a shark!

Comments: Got the Westport Washington hoax story  on "Great White Shark". Of course I passed it on to mariner friends on NW N America coast. Within about 6 hours, I received information from a friend that I had been taken in. Great stories become world wide myths in hours in todays world...... and it looks like they keep coming back up for another round of suckers to enjoy.
Regards,
Ron Parypa,
m/v Rhapsody

Comments: Here we go again! E-mail hoaxes. This one today shows your fish at Gray's Harbor, which is still a far piece from our Brookings on the Southern Oregon Coast. I did run into a couple of these when I lived in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and we had our own fishing boat. Hope I NEVER see one of these mafgnificent fish near Brookings. Although, I suspect that they are out there.

Comments: Re the shark......she's been making her way south from Ocean Shores, WA to Oregon!!!  Always check everything out and on this email, wanted to see a picture (which didn't come with the email) or see if it were a hoax and......found what I needed to know on this site!  Much thanks.

Comments: Just received the Urban Legend shark email from our cousin who lives in Burton, WA with the location of the catch named as "Ocean Shores, WA".

Comments: I received this hoax... I maybe would have believed it until I read that the shark DROWNED.  Too bad sharks can't drown... they're fish!

Comments: The email I got said it was found off the coast of Longview WA

Comments: I received this from a friend I will copy in the text that was written.  I noticed the Phone number did not look familiar and typed it in on google and got this site:  So much for swimming in the Galvestons warm waters this year.GALVESTON, TX 
While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing shrimp, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope a round it's tail !!! 
.. The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. 

Date: 1/24/2008
Name: Sharon Brown
Location: Ellijay, Georgia
E-Mail: skbrown123@ellijay.com

Comments: I was born and raised on the coast of Maine and never knew about these islands.  Very intriguing.  They would certainly be a nice place to visit!

Comments: Now the shark has made it to Galveston TX.  I just received this email today and was searching the internet for the story.  When I couldn't find anything I typed it the phone # on the crane and found this sight.

Comments: The shark has re-surfaced off Galveston, TX.  Received the email today 2/1/08. 

I tracked you down by the telephone # on the fork lift.

Comments: Yep, the story that will never die. I was quite surprised the original was Summer 2004! I got the Ocean Shores version. I've interested to see the east coast and gulf versions evolve :-)

Comments: Got this email I always will research something a little fishy . Keep up the good work.

Comments: The supposed location has now been changed to Galveston Tx. but much of the story has remained exactly the same.

Comments: There are a few things differnet on mine it states the following:

GALVESTON, TX
While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing shrimp, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope a round it's tail !!! 'And that's when the **** hit the fan!!
 

.. The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food. Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s.
The pictures attached are the same.

Comments: The version I received said the shark was caught in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis MD. 

Comments: Wow! This thing is still going around nearly 4 years after the real event! Amazing how gullible some people are, not to mention un-observant. The Chespeake Bay story even included reference to a local prize - the Rockfish. What some people do with their time....

Comments: Here's ol' "Jaws" now all the way in Galveston. I hang out at the beach a lot and was glad to hear it wasn't caught anywhere near!!

Comments: haha i got this e-mail from my mom at my hometown of Baltimore, Md and the title was "still want to swim in the chesapeake bay?" and it claimed the shark was hooked by some boaters who were out of Markley's Marina in Essex, MD. i did not believe it and soon after noticed the area code on the lift....which is what led to my research and brought me here. haha so funny how myths like this get started. thanks for clearing that up for me ;)

Comments: I got this with the boat listed out of Essex, MD and fishing near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  Guess everyone wans to get in to a good fish story.

Comments: Subject: FW: Chesapeake Bay Near Sandy Point State Park.
Chesapeake Bay, near Route 50 Bay Bridge and Sandy Point State Park…at last I have the ultimate excuse not to do the “Polar Bear Plunge” in January.   It’s not only crazy to jump into freezing cold water, it could be down right dangerous!     Note the expression on the face of the man wearing the Red Baseball cap. He’s still scared half out of his wits and glad to be alive!
Annapolis MD
While the vessel 'Dawn Raider’ out of Marklys Marina in Essex, Md. was fishing for Striped Bass (also locally known as Rock Fish), this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside t he boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope a round it's tail!!! 'And that's when   things heated up!! 
...  The Shark took off towing the  42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just  like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew  watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the  water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally  drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak  El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. 

Comments: Claimed to have been caught at Sandy Beach MD. First, El Nino is in the Pacific. Second, the water off of Sandy Point, at the only time the Shark would be looking for food, is 40 degrees farenheit. Anyway it would be really skinny this time of year. 

Date: 3/6/2008
Name: steve
Location: maryland
E-Mail: steveh@c-pros.com

Comments: Oh, and it would be "more enchanted THAN you would think. 

Comments: This came to me as a "great white" caught near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near a park called Sandy Point.  Sandy Point happens to be the park/beach where nearly 8,000(+/-) people jump into the water (as they do every year) during the Polar Bear Plunge in January to raise funds for the Maryland Special Olympics.
Hey up there in Nova Scotia.  :O)

Comments: the email i recieved said that this shark was caught in the upper chesapeake bay near the bay bridge in annapolis md. at first i thought hey it could be possible considering weve had other animals wander into our bay like a sea-cow (florida manatee)... but after i sent it to a few friends i slowly realized it couldnt be true. i thought it wouldnt be possible for a great white to survive in such low salinity levels considering they said it was caught in jan when salinity levels are lower in the bay and in that location salinity doesnt get high enough during any part of the year for that kind of fish and even if it could survive our brackish waters what about the area code on the the crane lifting it!!!!!  duhhh you big dummie!

Comments: Just got this story & knew something was FISHY!

>>>>>>> Chesapeake Bay, near Route 50 Bay Bridge and Sandy Point  State Park.at last I have the ultimate excuse not to do the "Polar Bear Plunge" in January.   It's not only crazy to jump into freezing cold water, it could be down right dangerous!     Note the expression on the face of the man wearing the Red Baseball cap. He's still scared half out of his wits and glad to be alive! <<<<<<<

>>>>>>> Annapolis, MD
While the vessel 'Dawn Raider' out of Marklys Marina in Essex, Md. was fishing for Striped Bass (also locally known as Rock Fish), this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope a round it's tail!!! 'And that's when   things heated up!! 
.  The Shark took off towing the  42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just  like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew  watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the  water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally  drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak  El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. <<<<<<<

Congratulations to the crew! Awesome Catch!

Comments: Subject: Fwd: This Little Fish Was Caught in the Chesapeake Bay near Sandy Point State Park
 

YOU GOTTA BE KID'EN ME !!

forwarded message:
From: "Daniel  Wight" <dwight@macgrp.net>
 Annapolis MD< /STRONG>

 While the vessel 'Dawn Raider' out of Marklys Marina in Essex, MD. Was fishing for Striped Bass (also locally known as Rock Fish), this Great
 White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for
one   of the crew members to slip a rope a round it's tail!!! 'And that's when things heated up!! ..  The Shark took off towing the  42 foot fishing boat backwards
through  the water at about 7 Knots. Just  like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew  watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the  water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally  drowned. She weighedin  at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak  El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate waterin 
 the low 50s. 
NOTE:  THE TAIL FIN IS THE SIZE OF A MAN!

Comments: I received this email and it stated the shark was caught in the Chesapeake Bay off of Sandy Point State park!  Fish looks good for being out of the water for 4 years!

Comments: The stoy has change a bit read below. Just a fact that the water in the Cheasapeake bay is to fresh north of the Rte. 50 bridge especially this year due to all the rain this winter. and by the way El Nino's are in the Pacific!!

50 Bay Bridge and Sandy Point State Park …at last I have the ultimate excuse not to do the 'Polar Bear Plunge' in January.   It's not only crazy to jump into freezing cold water, it could be down right dangerous!     Note the expression on the face of the man wearing the Red Baseball cap. He's still scared half out of his wits and glad to be alive!
Annapolis MD& amp; lt; BR>While the vessel 'Dawn Raider' out of Marklys Marina in Essex, Md. was fishing for Striped Bass (also locally known as Rock Fish), this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 1 5 minutes before it came up alongside t he boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope a round it's tail!!! 'And that's when   th ings heated up!! 
..  The Shark took off towing the  42 foot fishing boat backwards through the w ater at about 7 Knots. Just  like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew  watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the  water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally  drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak  El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate wa ter i n the l ow 50s. 

Markley's Marina Essex, MD

NOTE:  THE TAIL FIN IS THE SIZE OF A MAN! 

Comments: I received the email from my brother who lives in York, Pennsylvania, USA and the story says a great white shark was caught in the Chesapeake Bay. 

Comments: I just received this from a friend of mine in Colorado.  Amazing how this started 4 years ago and is still going around. Guess people really love a good fish tale.

Comments: recieved this shark email from my mother.  My husband knew right away that it was a hoax.  My mother was really upset, she thought that this was a true story.

Comments: Well, the story about the "Dawn Raider" is all still the same, but it was sent to me as having been caught off of the coast near Galveston Texas, USA.  I guess he must really love the warm water!

Thanks all,
Godd luck,
Hoss

Comments: I also recieved the Massive shark story even now in 2008! The story was changed to say that the shark was caught off Rottnest Island in Western Australia, (a hugely popular swimming spot). Straight away i googled the phone number on the crane a numbers from Dartmouth Nova Scotia Canada came up. On further inspection of the 2nd photo you can see a canadian flag on the mast of the fishing boat in the backround!!

Comments: Shark:
   I received the story where it was caught off Rottnest Island, Western Australia.

   The (902) area code of the phone number on the crane was a dead giveaway.

   What cheap thrills do these small minded people get, in twisting the truth and then shipping the fraud around the Internet?  Haven't they got more interesting things to do in life?   Oh well, it's often a very good illustration of just how gullible people are.  There are many that swallow these stories "hook, line and sinker".  ;-)

All The Best,
Gary

Comments: Yep we have it off Rottnest island here now! 

Comments: This was forwarded to me from a friend in South Australia.  The email claims that it is a White Pointer caught off the coast of Perth, Western Australia

Comments: many have indentified the shark as a mako not a white  july 2008

Comments: Great White Shark email. This one was modified a little so that it was caught off Perth, WA, Australia by fishermen but the story is the same. Aparently it came north on elnino current looking for food! Great pics though.

Comments: The shark email swum into my inbox today, 9th October, 2008. I Googled the topic and here I am!

Comments: AnnapolisMD 
 

While the vessel 'Dawn Raider' out of Markleys Marina in Essex, Md. was fishing for Striped Bass (also locally known as Rock Fish), this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside t he boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope a round it's tail !!! 'And that's when things heated up!! 
 
 

Date: 2/27/2009
Name: Michele
Location: Seattle/Bellevue WA
E-Mail: 

Comments: Just got a version of this today listing the location as "Ocean Shores" here in Washington state.  Besides being preposterous, the area code was the confirming clue. A quick Google search led me to your page.

Ocean Shores/Longview are near "Westport," which may have come from a perversion of the hometown of the factual fisherman (Wedgewood).

Thanks for your good work stomping out lazy liars! -- I second the other posters suggestion the creators get out and walk around "before their behinds get as big as their heads"!

Comments: Came to me as supposedly being caught off Rottnest Island off the Perth coast! Phone number gave it away as not being local!

Comments: This story was just forwarded to me by my brother-in-law who lives in Pennsylvania, it was the version of the story that places the shark (a "Great White") in the Chesapeake Bay near Sandy Point State Park, caught by the "'Dawn Raider' out of Marklys Marina in Essex, Md. was
fishing for Striped Bass"

Comments: Annapolis MD 

While the vessel 'Dawn Raider' out of Marklys Marina in Essex, Md. was fishing for Striped Bass  (also locally known as Rock Fish), this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew  members to slip a rope a round it's tail !!! 'And that's when  things heated up!! 

..  The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. 
 

This is the email sent to me by my aunt.  I was scared to ever go in the bay again til I found this site.  Attached were the exact same pictures from nova scotia.  thanks

Comments: So much for swimming in the Chesapeake Bay near Sandy Point State Park. 

Annapolis MD 

While the vessel 'Dawn Raider' out of Marklys Marina in Essex, Md. was fishing for Striped Bass  (also locally known as Rock Fish), this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew  members to slip a rope a round it's tail !!! 'And that's when  things heated up!! 

..  The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. 

Markley's Marina 
Essex,  MD
NOTE:  THE  TAIL FIN IS THE SIZE OF A MAN!!! 

Date: 1/9/2010 
  Name: Sandra 
  Location: Olympia Wa 
  E-Mail: 

  Comments: I had to look this story up on the internet as I have gone wave jumping in Ocean Shores WA. I had to laugh when I
  found out it was a hoax. 

Comments: January 20, 2010:  Just received the e-mail with pics attached, detailing the story of the landing of the Great White. 
The version I received stated that the shark was caught in the Chesapeake Bay.
No names were used in the story, although the vessel "Dawn Raider" out of Markley's Marina in Essex, MD was noted.
Every January, the Polar Bear Plunge is held at Sandy Point State Park on the Chesapeake.  Given the timing and the added caption of
"Anyone signed up for the Polar Bear Plunge?", I'm sure someone in Maryland is having a good laugh.  Special Olympics of Maryland, the beneficiary of the Plunge, may not find it so humorous.

Comments: Looks like this is a well-traveled shark!  I just got the below email this past Fri:

Just passing on an interesting email!!

Cape Lookout is but a hop skip and jump from Morehead City ...  So much for swimming at the Cape . 
Morehead City, NC  while the vessel 'Dawn Raider' out of Anchorage Marina in Atlantic Beach, NC was fishing for Striped Bass (also locally known as Stripers), this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew  members to slip a rope a round it's tail !!! 'And that's when  things heated up!! . 
The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. 

It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food.  Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s. 
Anchorage Marina
Atlantic Beach , NC 

Same photos came with the email so of course the problem with the area code on the lift. {grin}

Comments: My uncle had sent an e-mail out to his siblings about this shark having been caught off the shores of Atlantic Beach, NC. My Mom had forwarded it on to us kids... and I just happened to google the phone number(902)481-3455... hmm... Nova Scotia rental equipment in NC? After plugging "Cape Lookout Great White" into the search engine, I found the hoax. -Funny to see how far it's come!

Comments: Had me for a short second but I thought it was now illegal to land a great white shark these days?  I also didn't see anything in recent news about a great white being caught in the Chesapeake Bay. 

The email I recieved started out saying that an immediate amendment to the US Sailing Rules was being brought up and was addressing the issue of crew members falling overboard and the retrieval of crew asap!  So that just throws in a little more B.S. to the story.

Awesome shark though, maybe it will be believed as far south as the Bahamas like when JAWS visited those warm tropical waters in Jaws 2...

Comments: I have received this a few times this week AGAIN! Get it about two or three times a year. First time I got it, we were living in Hawaii!!  I too did a reverse search on the phone number (that poor company, hope they got some good biz from all the folks who must have called!!!??!!

I'm going to save this website, this is prety cool........I usually use About.com, but this was way more thorough on this story anyway! Great job!

Aloha!

Comments: This is second time I got this. The number tipped me to here... Pretty funny since I've been to the west coast of the island and never ever seen a shark... Lots O whales but no sharkes..... 

Comments: This is the second time I've received the e-mail from 2 different people but first time to be directed to the correct story and details. My wife and I go to Tofino and Long Beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island so are pleased to here there are no Great Whites out there in the surf.

Tony

Date: 2/8/2011
Name: Scott Owen
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
E-Mail: Scottygb@ScottOwen.org

Comments: I got this email from my brother and instantly thought, this can NOT be true! (Does that make me cynical and mistrusting? :-)). A quick search on Google turned up your page.

Date: 2/9/2011
Name: Gloria
Location: Kelowna, BC
E-Mail: damama55@gmail.com

Comments: I just got the email, sent it on, as I thought the fish was huge.  THEN, I googled it and sure enough, there is the evidence that it was caught in Nova Scotia.  Sent another email, with the corrected info.  Sure is one big fish, though.  Plus, found out it is a Mako shark, not a great white.

Picture compliments of DFO

This picture from government site verifies the Yarmouth as the location of catch
A 3.3 metre (10'10") mako shark weighing 492 kg (1082 lbs) caught at the 2004 Yarmouth shark derby.