Shark Video Apology: Man Calls Himself 'Conservationist'

MIAMI BEACH, FL — A Florida man has apologized for a video showing what appeared to be a 6-foot black tipped shark being dragged to its death by a power boat, according to a social media post from a fellow fisherman. The apology was sent via text after the video was viewed thousands of times earlier this week and touched off public outrage. The man said he was a "conservationist" in his apology.

"I realize what we did was stupid," the man stated in his text. "I have learned from my actions and I am sorry. It won't happen again." (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

Like Miami Patch on Facebook

The apology was posted to the Facebook account of Nate Weissman, who said he received the text after recognizing the man in the video and identifying him on social media. Weissman said on Facebook that he removed the man's name after he "stepped up" with the apology.

See also: Video Of Florida Shark Being Dragged Draws Outrage

Miami Beach shark hunter Mark "The Shark" Quartiano told Patch that he received the initial "evil" video of the shark being dragged through his social media account. Three men could be seen in the video smiling and laughing as the animal flipped and rolled through the high-speed jaunt at the end of a rope.

Quartiano questioned the sincerity of the apology when asked to comment on Thursday. He had earlier said that the video appears to have been shot in the Bradenton area of Florida and was sent to him on Monday, ostensibly for his "blessing" as a prominent shark hunter.

"I mean all of this," the apology continued. "I've been a conservationist since I could hold a fishing rod at the age of three. This was a lapse and judgement and it will never happen again."

Rob Klepper of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said on Wednesday that the agency has determined the identities of the men in the video but the names would not be released at this time. There was no further update on Thursday.

Organizers of the Sarasota Slam fishing tournament were concerned that one of the men in the video was wearing a T-shirt from their event and promised to ban the men from future participation.

In his apology, the man said that his mother has suffered as a result of the video.

"I'm sorry I got so defensive," the man added in his text. "But people were putting up my mother's info, talking negatively about her and that's something I've never been able to handle well. Good luck with all those gill plates. LOL."

Watch the shark video below:

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WTF IS GOING ON HERE ???? JUST GOT THIS ON MY FEED ! SENT FROM @bearjew428 AND @MICHAELWENZEL .FOR ONCE I MAY HAVE TO AGREE WITH @PETA. #WHODOESTHISSHIT #sowrong #notcool
A post shared by THE SHARK HUNTER (@marktheshark) on Jul 24, 2017 at 10:20am PDT

Patch editor Sherri Lonon contributed to this report.

Photo image courtesy of Mark "The Shark" Quartiano