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Great white shark caught and released in Gulf of Mexico

By Ben Hooper
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PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla., March 3 (UPI) -- A Florida shark fishing club shared photos of a nearly 10-foot great white shark they caught and released while fishing from the beach.

Gabriel Smeby, 28, of the Dark Side Sharkers group said he and colleagues Derrick Keeny and Kyle Register landed the 9-foot, 8-inch shark Sunday morning at Panama City Beach and took photos for about 10 minutes before tagging and releasing the predator.

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"It's been a life-long goal to catch a great white," Smeby told the Pensacola News Journal. "We never thought we'd do it in the Florida Panhandle."

The pictures shows Smeby holding the shark's snout to show off his rows of teeth.

"It's pretty amazing to have your hand on 365 million years of evolution," Smeby told the Panama City News Herald.

John Carlson, a research biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, confirmed the shark was a great white.

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The shark is believed to be the only great white caught from a beach in Florida.

"White sharks in the Gulf of Mexico are not rare, but uncommon," Carlson said. "They'll start moving out -- South to the Florida straits and up the Atlantic coast -- as the water starts warming up in the next few months," he said.

Carlson said he does not know of any previous great white sharks caught at Panama City Beach, but a great white was spotted circling a charter boat in the area in January.

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