About
80 Specimens are sorted according to total length (TL). If only mass was available,
TL was estimated from the most appropriate mass-length equation. Order according
to mass would be different because shortfin mako from the western North Atlantic
are on average about 15-20% heavier than those from Southern Hemisphere (Mollet et al. 2000) .
p.c.
= personal communication.
* estimated from PCL
or FL using equations given by Casey and Kohler (1990) and Cliff et al. (1990) .
** estimated from W (kg) = 7.658* TL^3.10 (m) for Southern Hemisphere (Stevens,
1983; converted to m); W (kg) = 7.299 TL^3.224 (m) for western North Atlantic
(Mollet et al. 2000).
| Photo | Reference | Sex | TL (m) | W (kg) | FL (m) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Rogerson 1970 | 152 | Caught by W. Bowden off Falmouth GB in 1967 | |||
 |
Peggy Stap p.c. | Male |
2.4-2.7 | The shortfin mako was seen on 3 Sep 2005
at 9:20 a.m.; position 36.37570 N and 121.52596 W; water - 142 feet
deep (43 m) ; water temp 15.5 Celsius; in Monterey Bay. Identified by
Dave Ebert and Bob Lea from photo in first column. Photo of
dorsal fin confirmed ID. Capt. Richard Ternullo
[co-researcher with Peggy on killer whale project] estimated the shark
to be 8 to 9 feet long. |
||
 |
Bass et al. 1975 | Male | 2.53 | Plate 9. Teeth of 253 cm mature male from Natal | ||
| Cliff et al. 1990 | Male | 2.68* | 163** | 2.47* | Largest of 84 males | |
 |
Rogerson 1970 | 170 | Caught off Mevgissey GB from the "Penare" (Skipper E. Lakeman) | |||
| Jersey Evening Post (J. Jouault) | 174 | Caught off Falmouth GB by D. A. Buckland of Middlesex in week of 25 June 1960. British Record. | ||||
| Atwood 1869 | Fem | 2.692 | 178** | Taken in Aug. 1868 off Provincetown MA, USA | ||
| Stevens 1983 | Male | 2.695 | 166** | Largest of 46 males | ||
| Carlos Villavicencio p.c. | Fem | 2.70 | Pregnant female with 6 term embryos (TL = 76-82 cm, 61-65 cm PCL, 4 male, 2 female) was caught on longline on 17 Feb 1999 off Punta Arena Baja California Sur, Mexico. | |||
| John Ugoretz p.c. | Male | 2.74 | 182 | Caught off Redondo Beach CA on Apr 10 1998 | ||
 |
Frank Nielsen pers. comm. July 2005 | Male | 195.5 | 2.54 | Date-July 17, 2005; Location-Southern California Bight |
|
| Casey & Kohler 1992 | Male | 2.76* | 193** | 2.55 | Largest of 1075 males | |
| Pratt & Casey 1983 | Male | 2.82* | 206** | 2.60 | Largest of 448 males | |
 |
Rogerson 1970 | 226 (498 1/2 lb.) |
Caught by Ken Burgers on 2 July 1966 off Looe, Cornwall GB on "Irene" (Skipper Reymonnd Pengelly). British Record 498 1/2 lb. mako. Photo of mouth. | |||
| Bass et al. 1975 | Male | 2.84 | 195** | Largest of 10 males | ||
| Ricky Chan p.c. | Fem | 3.000 | 233 | 2.735 | Caught on 10 Oct 2000 10 km off Sydney, Australia. Litter of 12 near-term embryos | |
| Dan Jehl p.c. | Fem | 3.05 | 193 | Speared by Stewart Graham , south off Coronado Island CA, as mako was charging from ~ 5 m away. (San D. Union 29 Aug. 99) | ||
| Bass et al. 1975 | Fem | 3.13 | 263 | Largest of 8 females | ||
| Moreno & Moron 1992 | Fem? | 3.172 | 274** | Largest of 45679 makos | ||
 28 Aug 2009 |
Captain Tom King 28 Aug 2009 |
Male | 283 (624 lbs) |
2.78 (9' 1.5") |
Record-setting male mako shark caught off Scituate. "Steve James, the president of the Boston Big Game Fishing Club, and John Chisholm, an aquatic biologist for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, were there to take official measurements of the shark.Officially, the shark weighed 624 pounds, had a 67-inch girth, and was 9 feet, 1 1/2 inches from the head to the fork of the tail." | |
| Duffy & Francis 2001 | Fem | 3.175 | 238 | 2.905 | Pregnant female with 8 near-term embryos (TL = 67.2-77.0 cm) was caught on Feb. 5, 1999 off Hawke Bay, south-east North Island, New Zealand. | |
 |
Cailliet et al. 1983 | Fem | 3.21 | 285 | 3.06 | Caught 5 km off Carmel Bay CA, USA on 29 June 1982 in drift net. Bob Lea p.c. |
| Fowler 1936 | Fem? | 3.21 | 285** | quoted in Gubanov 1974 | ||
 |
Pratt et al. 1992 | Fem | 3.25 | 312.5 | 3.01 | 15 embryos (one lost at sea), 50.4-54.0 cm long. Another dissection photo. |
 |
James Aliberti | Fem | 3.25** | 316.7 | Caught at 6 am on 21 Mar 1998 near Midway Atoll. Slides provided for scaning by James Aliberti, Refuge Ranger, US Fish & Wildlife Service. Dave Ebert suggested that it is I. paucus. |
|
| Branstetter 1981 | Fem | 3.27** | 334 | 18 embryos, 25-31cm TL | ||
| Cliff et al. 1990 | Fem | 3.30 | 310** | 3.05* | Largest of 53 female | |
| Bigelow & Schroeder 1948 | Fem? | 3.34** | 356.5 (786 lb) | Caught off Bimini, Bahamas in 1936 by E. Hemingway | ||
 |
Ben Roesch p.c. | Fem | 3.35 | 360* | Caught off Plate Cove (New Foundland) by Donald and Lou Fennell in Sept. 1998 | |
 |
13 or 14 Oct, 2007 | F? | 3.35 (11') |
383 (844.4 lbs) |
DESTIN, Fla. - Six friends went to a fishing tournament looking to catch some grouper. They caught an 844-pound shark instead. After it was gutted, the mako still weighed 638 pounds, breaking the tournament's previous shark division record by 338 pounds. Nothing was reported on reproductive tract in newspaper. | |
| Oliver Putz & Tris Colket p.c. | Fem | 3.36** | 363 (800 lb) |
Caught off Daytona Beach FL, USA on Dec 5, 1992 by M. Taylor; carried 15 embryos 30 - 40 cm long | ||
 |
International Angler | 377 (832 lb) | Caught by Tom Brooks outside Catalina Island in the Mako Madness tournement at Dana Point. Two Teams Disqualified in 'Mako Madness'. | |||
| 379 | Cuaght on July 22, 2001 during Dana Point CA charity fishing event | |||||
| Applegate 1966 | Fem | 3.366 | 385.6 | Caught by Jerry Cherzanzy on July 4, 1965 at Eagle Rock Cove off the west end of Santa Catlina island. One ~5 cm diameter egg was found in ovary but such a large egg does not fit lamnid reproduction. | ||
| Uchida et al. 1987 | Fem | 3.37 | 331** | 16 embryos | ||
| Stevens 1983 | Fem | 3.39** | 340 | 14 embryos ~60 cm TL | ||
| Gubanov et al. 1973 | Fem? | 3.40 | 260 | quoted in Gubanov et al. 1974 | ||
| Stevens 1983 | Fem | 3.43 | 350** | Largest of 45 females | ||
 |
Jason Seitz p.c. | Fem | 3.45 (11' 4") |
336 (740 lbs) |
Miami Herald March 19,1995. Caught on
9 March 1995, near the "Hump" (a seamount 11 miles off Islamorada
where the bottom leaps from 550 ft (177 m) to 280 ft (85 m) in a sharp
spine. Was caught on dropped butterflied 3-pound bonito to the bottom
when the mako struck. Lot's of jumping upt to 10 ft (3 m) out of the water.
Needed 2 hours to land the catch. A 25 lb (11 kg) blackfin tuna fell out
when hung. Was weighted with digital scale. Thanks to Jason Seitz for sending scanned newspaper article. |
|
 |
J. Ugoretz p.c. | Fem | 3.454 | 447 | 3.251 | Caught by Tom Brooks, off Santa Barbara Island, California (33 37' N, 118 58' W) on Sep. 5, 1999. 426kg on digital scale after 24 hr. |
| IGFA 1996 (W-37) | Fem? | 3.46** | 399 (880 lb) |
Taken off Bimini, Bahamas on Aug 03, 1964 by F. Lotierzo | ||
 |
Jeff Seigel p.c. | Fem | 3.480 | 336 (740 lb) |
Caught off Redondo Beach CA, USA on July 13, 1996; 23 kg (50 lb) blue shark found in stomach. Dave Ebert suggested it could be I. paucus. | |
| J. Ugoretz p.c. | Fem | 3.480 | 503 (1109 lb) | Caught by Chris Badsey on 19 Sep 1999 and braught into Dana Point Harbor CA for new State record. Large girth of 1.83 m (72"). Shy by 6 lb of current IGFA record of 1115 lb. Colder-than-normal water might have brought large makos closer to shore in 1999 as they appeared to more abundant. | ||
 |
Daniel McCaw, John Morrissay, Terry Bullerwell, Steve Campana Oct 2004 |
F | 3.42 | 492; 381 (dressed) |
3.30 (OTC) |
|
| Peter Saul p.c. | Fem | 3.49** | 370 | Caught off upper east coast of South Island NZ in early Feb, 1999; reportedly largest mako caught off the South Island | ||
| IGFA 1996 (W-60) | Fem? | 3.50** | 414 (912 lb) |
Taken off Palm Beach FL, USA on Apr 09, 1962 by A. Cohen | ||
| Shark Tagging News of CDFG Shark Tagging Program | 3.505 | 447 (986 lb) | Taken by Tom Brooks Jr. off Redondo Beach on 5 Sep 1999. Catch broke the old state record but only for 14 days (see #37 above, however, this mako at 11'6'' was reported to be 1" longer than 19 Sep capture by Chris Badsey. Internal organs were saved and donated to researchers at the National Marine Fisheries Service. | |||
| Applegate 1977 | Fem | 3.507 | 468 | Harpooned 8 km south of Anacapa Island on Aug 28, 1972; largest in California until 30 Sep 2006. (Third largest one in California as of July 2010). | ||
| Norman and Fraser 1938 | Fem? | 3.51 | 362 | Caught by Mr. White-Wickham in Bay of Islands, New Zealand in Jan. 1931 | ||
 |
Clinton Duffy p.c. | Fem | 3.525 | 417.3 | 3.230 | Taken in Hawke Bay NZ on 5 Feb. 1999 by John Cave. 37 kg main line, steel trace, hooked and fought according to IGFA rules. Stomach contained intact 30 kg blue shark and pieces of yellow fin tuna used as bait. |
| IGFA 1979 | Fem? | 3.55** | 387 (854 lb) |
Taken off Port Stephens N.S.W., Australia on May 09, 1971 by J. H. Barclay | ||
 |
Victor Lin p.c. | Fem? | ~3.6 almost 12' |
377 | Photos of prepped jaws. | |
 |
Victor Lin p.c. | Fem? | 407 | Giant mako caught off Taiwan Nov-Dec 2002 (largest makos caught off Taiwan could be smaller than the largest ones caught elsewhere. Additional photos from Victor Lin. | ||
| Pratt & Casey 1983 | Fem | 3.55* | 434** | 3.28 | Largest of 395 females | |
| Wes Pratt p.c. | Fem | 3.55* | 567 (1250 lb) | WNA mako (#225, post partum) caught on July 7, 1977 | ||
| Bigelow & Schroeder 1948 | Fem? | 3.61** (3.2 est.) | 458 (1009 lb) | Taken off St. Petersburg FL, USA | ||
| Wes Pratt p.c. | Fem | 3.65* | 472 | WNA mako (#224, not gravid), captured on July 7, 1977 | ||
| Pinchuk 1972 | Fem? | 3.66 | 427** | Quoted in Gubanov 1974 | ||
| IGFA 1979 | Fem? | 3.66** | 428 (944 lb) |
taken off Sydney N.S.W., Australia on Nov 28, 1976 by J. Remetean | ||
 |
Peter Saul & Clinton Duffy p.c. |
Fem | 3.67** | 433.6 | Taken off Poor Knights Islands, east Northland NZ on Nov 22, 1983 by C. Lamplough with 37 kg line. | |
| IGFA 1996 (M-15) | Fem | 3.68** | 435 (959 lb) |
Taken off Norah Beach Australia on Sep 12, 1993 by J. Lousdale | ||
| IGFA 1998 (M-37) | Fem? | 3.68** | 488 (1076 lb) |
Taken off Puerto Rico Spain on July 26, 1997 by S. Courtney | ||
 |
Capt. Tom's home page. Int. Angler V. 61 NO. 5 F(1999) |
em | 3.684* | 601 (1324 lb) |
3.404 | Taken on July 27, 1999 by angler Billy Silva on "Survival" (Capt. Kevin Scola) while fishing commercially for tuna in Mass. Bay at Stellwagen Bank. Not caught according to IGFA rules and would have shattered the all-tackle record by more than 200 lbs. Landed into Green Harbor, Marshfield MA and weighed the following day. Enormously fat at 96" girth (2.44 m). |
 |
IGFA 1996 (M-24) | Fem | 3.69** | 490 kg (1080 lb |
Taken by James Melanson off Montauk NY (USA) on Aug. 26, 1979. Photo provided by P. Guillanton. Previous IGFA record. Dave Ebert suggested that it is I. paucus. | |
| IGFA 1972 (acc. to Applegate 1977 | Fem | 3.71 | 481 (1061 lb) |
Caught on Feb. 17, 1970 off Mayor Island NZ by J. B. Penwarden | ||
| Guitart Manday 1975 | Fem | 3.71** | near 500 | "Sometimes large females (W near 500 kg) are caught" | ||
| Casey & Kohler 1992 | Fem | 3.73* | 442** | 3.45 | Largest of 1113 females | |
 |
IGFA 1989 p.94 | Fem | 3.73** | 454 (1000 lb) |
Caught on March 14, 1943 off Major Island NZ by B. Ross. Photo provided by P. Guillanton, who suggests it could be longfin mako, Isurus paucus. Both Dave Ebert and Clinton Duffy suggested that shortfin mako identification more likely despite apparent long pectoral fin. | |
 06 Jun 2013 |
San Jose Mercury 6/6/13 ABC News |
Fem |
3.73; (TOT = 3.83) | 600 (1223 lbs) |
3.37; PCL 3.10 | Caught 15 m off Huntington Beach (SoCal) by Jason Johston after 2 1/2 battle on chartered fishing vessel 'Breakaway'. IFGF record applied for. Fish was donated to NMFS. May have been pregnant. Looking forward to necropsy results. Paper came out in Summer 2015. For copy of paper in pdf form ask the senior author Kady Lyons by email at kady.lyons@sbcglobal.net . |
| Clinton Duffy p.c. | Fem | 3.76* | 418 | 3.47 | Taken 8 n. miles off Bare Island, Hawke's Bay NZ on 17 Jan. 1999 by Chris Garland. 37 kg main line, marlin lure on 150 pound nylon trace, struck and fought according to IGFA rules. The fishers involved were trolling for marlin and yellowfin tuna. When they saw the shark in the lures they accelerated in an attempt to lose it but it jumped out of the water, grabbing the marlin lure upon re-entry and was hooked in the upper lip. | |
 |
#51 IGFA 1996 (M-37) |
Fem | 3.76** | 464 (1023 lb) |
Taken off Hawke Bay, Napier N.Z. on Feb 2, 1990 by M. Shanaghan | |
 |
Clinton Duffy p.c. | Fem | 3.790 |
458.5 | 3.460 3.140 PCL |
Taken off Gisbourne, east coast, North Island, New Zealand on 10 Feb. 2001 by Neville Clark. Vessel Marcella. Taken according to IGFA rules at 1.30 PM and boated at 9 PM. She was post-partum. no fresh mating scars, largest ova 2.2 mm diameter, maximum uterus width 15 cm. Her stomach was empty except for a few shark vertebrae and some unidentfiable teleost bones. Her liver was thin and flabby. Had she been in prime condtion, she probably would have weighed well over 500 kg. |
| Gubanov 1974 | Fem | 3.80 | 500 | 3.42 | Caught on July 31, 1972 at 130-140 m depth in eastern part of Indian Ocean | |
 |
Coastal Fisherman Vol. 25 #12 | Fem | 3.81 (12 1/2 ft) |
442 (975 lb) |
Taken by Tom Barney on July 27, 2000 on charter boat
"Reel-Istic" with Capt. Billy Verbanas, Mates Chris Greigg,
Paul Nelson, Scott Bruck. |
|
| Feb 2008 | Douglas J. Long | Fem | 3.82 | From Doublas Long: 382 cm T.L., Female, Feb 2008, 22 km off Augusta, Western Australia, caught at 30 fms. |
||
 |
UnderwaterTimes.com |
Fem (from photo) |
3.81 (12' 6") |
482 (1063 lbs) |
Destin,
Florida (Apr 20, 2007 15:47 EST) A 1,063-pound mako shark hooked close to shore in the Gulf of Mexico isbeing investigated as a possible world fishing record. The registered weight of 1,063 pounds makes the catch eligible for the world record in the 30-pound line class for a short-fin mako. The class record is a 997-pound, 11-ounce shark caught in Sidney, Australia, in 1995. The largest mako recorded in the all-tackle division was a 1,221 pounder caught in Massachusetts in 2001. |
|
 28 July 2010 |
URL | ? | 498 (1098 lbs) | OXNARD, Calif. -- A Newbury Park man has reeled in what could be the largest fish ever caught off the coast of California. Sean Carlsen Gizatullin was taking part in a fishing tournament off the coast of Oxnard when he caught a Shortfin Mako Shark weighing in at 1,098 pounds."It went under the boat a few times, came out twice with its jaws open towards the boat," Gizatullin said."It didn't lunge out or anything crazy like Jaws but it was still intense."Gizatullin says it took him so long to reel in the giant fish that he was 45 minutes late for the weigh-in and did not win the tournament. Pending verification, the shark is the largest fish of any kind ever caught off the coast of California. 2nd largest one as per July 2010. Largest one weighed 533 kg (1175 lbs) (see below) |
||
 |
Mollet et al. (2002) | Fem | 3.85** | ca. 500 | 25 - 30 embryos, mis-identified by Sanzo (1912) as Carcharodon carcharias, (Download PDF ) | |
 |
IGFA 1996 (M-60) | Fem | 3.86** | 505.8 (1115 lb) |
Taken off Black River, Mauritius on Nov 16, 1988 by P. Guillanton. Thanks, Patrick for email with photos and documentation. Previous IGFA all tackle world record (see below). | |
 |
Capt. Tom; IGFA 2002 (M-60) |
~12' 3.83** |
553.8 (1221 lb) | 3.35 | Taken off Chatham MA USA on July 21, 2001 by Luke Sweeney.
Present IGFA all tackle world record. Thanks to Capt. Tom for photos.
2nd photo by Capt. Jack Tassinari.
The Mako shark was approximately 12 feet in length and significantly larger
in girth than a fifty gallon drum. FL = 3.35 m from Lisa Natanson. |
|
 |
Storai et al. 2001 | Fem | 3.90 | 513 | Caught off Cirò Marina (Southern Italy, Calabrian coast of Ionian Sea) on 20 Sep 2000. Stomach contained the caudal fluke of a dolphin (~60 kg). | |
 |
Ian Fergusson p.c. Storai et al. 2001 | Fem | 3.90 | Caught 200 m offshore of Bagnara Calabra (east side of Straits of Messina) on 30 Nov 1991. Newspapers reported almost 5 m total length but was "only" 3.9 m long. | ||
| Capt. Tom's home page | Fem | >3.92** | > 590 (1300 lb) |
Harpooned on July. 8, 1997 ~8 m. E. off Humarock Beach, Scituate (Mass. Bay) | ||
 30 Sep 2006 |
Thanks to Victor Lin for sending URL. | ~3.96 (13 ft) |
533 kg (1175 lbs) |
30 Sep 2006 off Catalina Island, CA USA. Largest shortfin mako caught
off California. |
||
 2 Mar 1990 |
Rizzuto 1996,
G. Hodson p.c. |
Fem | 3.96**; 3.66 est. | 547 | Caught off Kona, Hawaii on March 2, 1990 by Jody Daniels; carried 18 embryos ca. 40.6 cm (16") long with large yolk-stomachs. Jody sent me a jpg of the jaw in Dec. 2000. | |
| Bigelow & Schroeder 1948 | Fem | est. 4.0 | 637** | "said to reach 4 m (13')". | ||
 8 Aug 1997 |
J . de Marignac & G. Stone p.c. | Fem | ~3.96 (13 ft) |
~794 kg | 3.66* | Harpooned on Aug. 8, 1997 by Dave Beal 10 m. E. off mount Desert Rock, Maine. Weighed 1400 lb (635 kg) gutted. |
| A. De Maddalena p.c. | Fem? | 4 | 1000 kg | Lawley, R. 1881. Studi comparativi sui pesci fossili coi viventi dei Generi Carcharodon, Oxyrhina e Galeocerdo. Nistri, Pisa. According to A. De Maddalena , the author observed this mako at a fishmonger in Livorno (Tuscany, Italy) and stated that the specimen measured 4 meters in length and weighed 1000 kg and that it was caught in the Channel of Piombino (not very far from Livorno). No capture date was reported. | ||
 25 March 2009 |
Douglas J. Long | Male |
4.02 | >454 kg (>1000 lbs) dressed weight | From Douglas Long: I've been collecting known-length shortfin mako jaws for a study on dental ontogeny & diet, and I just received the biggest specimen yet, a 402 cm (13' 2.3') TL male from off SW Australia (5 km off Augusta, Western Australia, caught at 17 fm)s. Accurately measured & recorded dockside by someone I trust (Joseph "Shark Doctor" Legende out of Perth), even had a chunk of pilot whale in it's belly. Said to be the largest yet taken off Western Australia, but 'official' records aren't kept for commercial catches the way they are for game fishing, except in the occasional academic literature. Sex was confirmed by captain and first mate who dressed it out: "It was a he-fish. Real long and skinny, a big and battered Ole Geezer. Looked old as the hills. Real thin tooth for It's size." The captain's son (in his mid-twenties) confirmed that it was a male. They remember because of the whale meat in its gut, so unusual that it helped them to remember this grand ole fish. |
|
| Gordon Hubbell p.c. | Fem? | >4.27 | Over the years Gordon Hubbell has imported at least 25 jaws from makos of more than 12' in length. In fact the largest jaw, which has an obvious shortfin mako dentition, is probably from a shark of at least 14' TL. I have this jaw in my collection. So I have no doubt that shortfin makos reach this size and longfin makos probably slightly larger. | |||
 |
Kabasakal & De Maddalena (2011) | Fem | ~5.8-6.2 | PCL 4.86 | PDF of paper can be downloaded in Reference columns. Abstract: A huge female shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus, was caught in the late 1950s off Marmaris (SE Aegean Sea, Turkey), by a commerical fisherman. Photographic documentation has been used by the authors to estimated the total length of this specimen at 585 cm (range from 577 to 619 cm). This size greatly exceeds the maximum size recorded for the species (a 445 cm long female caught in September 1973 off Six-Foures, les-Plages, France). It is believed that the Marmaris specimen is the largest shortfin mako ever recorded. |
|
| Photo | Reference | Sex | TL (m) | W (kg) | FL (m) | Comments |
Created May 1995; updated August 2015. Back to previous page Please send comments or corrections to henry@elasmollet.org