A fishing-themed social media site on Saturday shared a “throwback” image showing an angler posing with the head of a large yellowfin tuna.
BDOutdoors’ Instagram description was somewhat predictable: “Paying his dues to the local taxman,” followed by a shark emoji.
The image was captured at Mexico’s Guadalupe Island before the designated biosphere reserve was ordered closed to sportfishing and commercial shark diving.
The taxman, undoubtedly, was a great white shark.
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Guadalupe Island, 160 miles west of Ensenada, is seasonal home to dozens of great white sharks.
When long-range sportfishing vessels from San Diego were allowed to fish at Guadalupe, tuna were routinely snatched from hooks before they could be reeled to the boats.
The term “taxman,” however, is used around the world in reference to fish-stealing sharks.