Video of fisherman ‘manhandling’ shark is not what it seems

A frightening video appearing showing a fisherman wrestling with a sand tiger shark close to shore in fact shows something very different.

A viral video appearing to show a fisherman wrestling with a shark just metres from a busy shoreline has turned out to show something quite different.

A crowd at Delaware Beach on Sunday watched on as a fisherman wrapped his arms around the large shark, pulling its jaws open.

The video, captured by Rachael Foster was shared on Facebook and has been viewed more than 107,000 times. Ms Foster told Delmarva Now people on the beach were screaming, “Shark, shark, get out of the water!’ It was so crazy, like a movie. Like Jaws,” she said.

It looked like he was wrestling with the shark. Picture: Rachael Foster

But actually, the man was pulling a fishing hook from the creature’s mouth. Picture: Rachael Foster

Some immediately thought the fisherman was harming the shark.

She said commenters on Facebook had criticised the fisherman for grabbing onto the animal, but she insisted that wasn’t the case.

“He did this by the book and was totally legal with it,” she wrote.

“His buddy simply caught a shark. He went out, opened his mouth to get the hook out, then he went deeper into the water, turned the shark around and released it.”

Sand tiger sharks, also known as grey nurse sharks, are a protected species in the Delaware area and local law insists they are released if caught.