Great white shark caught from Florida beach

*(By Pete Thomas – Courtesy of GrindTV: http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/great-white-shark-caught-florida-beach/)

A great white shark landed Sunday near Panama City, Florida, might be the first white shark caught from the beach in the Gulf of Mexico.

Angler poses with great white shark before it was released; photo via Dark Side Sharkers

The juvenile white shark, measuring almost 10 feet, was caught by Derrick Keeny of a club called Dark Side Sharkers.

They tagged the shark and, after posing for the accompanying images, released the predator, which they reported on the tag submission to be in “excellent” condition.

“No doubt a once-in-a-lifetime catch,” Dark Side Sharkers posted Monday on Facebook.

Great white sharks are rarely caught from the beach anywhere in the world.

They’re a protected species in most areas, too, including Florida, and some on social media expressed disappointment that the anglers pried this shark’s mouth open for the sake of photographs.

Stated the California-based Marine Conservation Science Institute, on Facebook: “As great as it is to see this handsome male juvenile white shark, it is the responsibility of the angler to release the protected species ASAP once identified, whether they are tagging with a program or not.

“These regulations are set in place to help ensure the survival and safety of the protected species in the end.”

But this was an extremely rare catch. Most of the dozens of comments on the Dark Side Sharkers’ Facebook page were congratulatory, and the images, understandably, were being widely shared.