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Rare Sawfish Caught in Boynton Beach

156 views · Published 18 June 2014 · 0:40 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: NBC 15 · 2014 · News & Politics

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BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (WPEC) A group of high school friends about to graduate decided to celebrate by going fishing Sunday morning. They had no idea what they were about to reel in and that is would bring them instant fame.

Dustin Richter reeled in a massive rare sawfish early Sunday morning off the Boynton Beach Inlet.

"It was two in the morning and we were gonna try and stay up the next day, because we were so excited with this catch," Richter tells CBS 12.

"I've been fishing all my life and I've never came up on any type of shark at all.this is my first time shark fishing and we happen to hook up on the catch of a life time."

The fish was a whopping 11 feet in length and weighed about 500 pounds. Sawfish are endangered and Richter released his catch back into the water.    
 
"We got him close we saw the bill come out of the water everyone was going crazy we could not believe the size of this thing and then took off for another 2 hours of fishing," recalls Richter.

The sawfish used to be a common sight in Florida waters, but they were accidentally over fish due to their nose easily getting caught in fishing nets.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission says the fishermen did the right thing. If you see or catch a sawfish, release it and report it so scientists can track the numbers.

CLICK HERE to watch the video from WPEC.

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