Massive tiger shark caught off Forster on NSW mid north coast

Professional fisherman Jacob Bowland​, 26, reeled in the huge shark on Friday morning after anchoring a few kilometres off the coast overnight by himself.

He said the shark, which he estimated to be 3.5 to 4 metres long and several hundred kilograms, "put up a fight" as he reeled it in. It was only slightly shorter than his boat, so he had to tow it back to shore.

"My line was anchored on the boat anchor, so it wasn't pulling on the line, but it was fighting the boat," Mr Bowland said.

"It's a bit of a challenge, a bit of fun. It's always a sight when they fight next to the boat."

A crowd of holidaymakers were nearby as his haul was pulled out of the water with a forklift. Many watched on in astonishment, with some taking photos.

Mr Bowland studied marine biology at university and has been a professional fisherman for five years.

He said he mainly catches bronze whalers off the coast of Forster, however tiger sharks become more common as the weather gets warmer.

When he cut open the tiger shark, he found "bits" of two other sharks inside, including a 2.5-metre bronze whaler.

Speaking to Fairfax Media, he said his catch was "big, but it's not huge".

"There's plenty of other bigger sharks there," he said. "This is probably the biggest one I've caught in the last two weeks."

Mr Bowland said his father was a professional fisherman for 35 years. Originally, he had no desire to follow in his father's footsteps, but now he couldn't imagine doing anything else.

It is expected the shark will be cut up and stored for several days before it's sold as flake, while its jaw will be preserved.

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