Although the shark in question was eventually returned to the water, it’s illegal to pull protected species up onto the beach, not to mention extremely dangerous for the fish itself.
George Burgess, director emeritus of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, reportedly told The Dodo: “There’s no doubt it was pretty hot out when that picture was taken, and once out of the water, sharks can not breathe.”
Not only that, but there are significant risks associated with taking a shark from the water anyway; risks aside from them not being able to breathe. Due to the different gravity present on land, sharks can suffer unseen internal injuries when hauled from their natural habitat. Just because they swim off when you’ve placed them back in the ocean, doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to survive.
“Sharks are not designed to live in the type of gravity we have on land,” Burgess said.
“This lack of buoyancy pulls their organs downward and can cause the tissues that hold their organs in place to tear. That can lead to the death of the animal, even if it’s thrown back into the water.”
A cousin of the great white shark, but of no relation to tiger sharks, the sand tiger shark is a species that regularly hunts schools of fish. There have been no confirmed human fatalities as a result of their bites.
Since the incident in question, many people have taken to social media to condemn the picture, in which beachgoers can be seen smiling as they take their own snaps of the fish being held by a man.
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