Video Of Florida Shark Being Dragged Draws Outrage

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Mark "The Shark" Quartiano has spent the past 50 years hunting sharks for a living in South Florida. But he was disgusted this week when someone sent him an "evil" video that appeared to capture a power boat dragging a 6-foot black tipped shark to its death. 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.

"I've killed more sharks than anyone in the world," Quartiano told Patch on Tuesday as he skippered his charter back to shore near Miami Beach. "I was horrified to see something like this happening this day and age. I just couldn’t believe it. I’ve killed tens of thousands of sharks but never tortured one." (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Beach Patch.)

He said that the video appears to have been shot in the Bradenton area of Florida and was sent to him through social media on Monday, ostensibly for his "blessing" as a prominent shark hunter.

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"I guess when they caught it, they brought it to the boat and they tied a rope around its tail and proceeded to drag it through the ocean," Quartiano explained. "That’s definitely evil to do that to an innocent creature. It’s one thing killing them humanely like we do. That’s totally disrespect."

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.

"It is too early to speculate as to what, if any, violations took place in this incident," he said. "However, the FWC would like to state that that the lack of respect shown in this video for our precious natural resources is disheartening and disturbing, and is not representative of conservation-minded anglers around the world."

Anyone with information can contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or via email at Tip@MyFWC.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Quartiano said that the men who took the video also sent him a photo of them holding the badly damaged carcass of the shark.

"When I saw it, I said 'you guys are wrong for doing this,' said Quartiano. "There’s a good way and a bad way to kill animals. This is the worst I’ve ever seen. They called me like a hater."

Photos and video used with permission of Mark "The Shark" Quartiano