This is the stunning moment a crew of fisherman pull up a shark – and nearly lose a hand cutting it loose.

In nerve-racking footage, the crew from Pensacola, Florida, bring the predator to the surface after a 45-minute battle.

Hook in mouth, the beast thrashes around before settling down, allowing one of the men to cut her free.

This is the stunning moment a crew of fisherman pull up a shark ¿ and nearly lose a hand cutting it loose

This is the stunning moment a crew of fisherman pull up a shark – and nearly lose a hand cutting it loose

Yet she had one parting gift for them, lunging for her liberator at the last moment.

‘I try to cut the hook when I can but I have my hand on the leader line so I can tell when they are about to lunge,’ Tyler Manning, 35, said.

‘I knew I would only be able to get close because she was still pretty feisty.

‘The bite was only a few inches away but I honestly didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t know it was that close until I saw the video.’

Mr Manning, from the company Flat Out Inshore Charters, said it took three men to bring the beast to the surface.

‘We knew there were sharks in the area and knew right away by how fast it ran we had a big one,’ he said.

Tyler Manning, 35, was just inches from losing his hand as the shark lunged at him after being cut free

Tyler Manning, 35, was just inches from losing his hand as the shark lunged at him after being cut free

Tyler Manning, 35, was just inches from losing his hand as the shark lunged at him after being cut free

Mr Manning believes the creature was a dusky shark ¿ a species considered potentially dangerous to humans because of its size

Mr Manning believes the creature was a dusky shark ¿ a species considered potentially dangerous to humans because of its size

Mr Manning believes the creature was a dusky shark – a species considered potentially dangerous to humans because of its size

'We knew there were sharks in the area and knew right away by how fast it ran we had a big one,' Mr Manning said

'We knew there were sharks in the area and knew right away by how fast it ran we had a big one,' Mr Manning said

‘We knew there were sharks in the area and knew right away by how fast it ran we had a big one,’ Mr Manning said

‘Sometimes we fish for them other times they eat the fish we are catching and get themselves hooked.

‘Usually she stays down on bottom pretty much the whole time, but once she breaks and starts coming up we try to keep her near the top and release her as quickly as possible so we don’t hurt her.

‘Usually the anglers take turns as she makes runs and applies about 30lbs of pressure for the entire fight.’

Mr Manning believes the creature was a dusky shark – a species considered potentially dangerous to humans because of its size.

The predator is often targeted by fisheries harvesting shark fins and is classified as ‘threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.



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