Jaw-dropping moment marine captures massive tiger shark with his bare HANDS before setting it free
Researcher attempts to tag the shark before releasing it back into the water because of it's size
THIS is the amazing moment a US Marine captures a massive shark with his bare hands.
David Schmidt got to grips with the 11ft long tiger shark at North Topsail Beach, in North Carolina in a bid to tag it to allow scientists to track its movements.
His struggle was filmed by local resident Laura Harrell who later posted it on Facebook.
Schmidt, a fisherman who is a member of the Get Bent fishing team, regularly catches, tags and measures sharks as part of an ongoing research project.
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The team from the Apex Predators Program measured the fish but realised it was too large to tag and immediately let it back into the water.
The beast was a whopping 11ft 7ins long - and Harrell said it's the biggest she's ever seen.
The keen photographer said: "Last year I saw a guy fishing off the shore and he caught a 6-foot shark, which I thought was big."
WITN reported the research team kayaked 400 yards out to reel in the shark, though it may be they travelled that distance to drop the bait.