WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Blacktip shark found in Louisiana canal

Blacktip shark found in Louisiana canal

By David Spunt - email

SORRENTO, LA (WAFB) - Two teenagers found a five foot long shark while fishing in a Louisiana canal Thursday afternoon and pulled it out of the water to have proof behind their amazing fish story. 

Travis Singleton and his younger brother, Dylan, were in their boat on the Amite River Diversion Canal near Sorrento on the Ascension-Livingston parish line when they saw something unusual floating in the water.

"You never think you're going to see that in the Amite," said Travis. They say their find was barely alive when they came across it. They were able to fish it out of the water and bring it to the dock. "We brought it back to show what we found so everybody believes us," he said. Biologists believe the shark is a blacktip.

The brothers say they've been fishing in the canal for years. Now, they have whale of a tale and a few worries about getting back in the water. "It gives me second thoughts about swimming in it," Dylan said.

Experts with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries say it's definitely uncommon to see a shark in these waters.

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