Bronze whaler (copper shark)

A big requiem shark with a bronze to olive-gray back that shines coppery when fresh, a white belly, a bluntly pointed snout, narrow hooked upper teeth, and no ridge between the dorsal fins. Fin tips darker but not black-tipped.

80–250 lb.

About 10½ ft (325 cm) and about 670 lb (305 kg).

Sardines, mullet, other fish, squid and small sharks and rays; follows the sardine run up South Africa's coast.

A coastal shark of temperate seas that comes right into the surf, bays and estuary mouths; famous for big beach-caught fish on Namibia's Skeleton Coast.

Found from Southern Africa, Gulf of Guinea & Central Africa, Morocco & West Africa, Spain & Portugal (Azores, Madeira & Canaries), France, Italy & Malta, South-East Australia & Tasmania, Northern Territory & Western Australia, New Zealand, Japan & South Korea, China, Hong Kong & Taiwan, Peru, Southern Brazil, Uruguay & Argentina, Southeast Brazil and Southern California. Warm-temperate coasts worldwide: Namibia, South Africa and Angola, West Africa and the Mediterranean, southern Australia and New Zealand, Japan and China, Peru, Brazil to Argentina, and southern California to Mexico.

Warm-temperate coasts worldwide: Namibia, South Africa and Angola, West Africa and the Mediterranean, southern Australia and New Zealand, Japan and China, Peru, Brazil to Argentina, and southern California to Mexico.

Surf to about 1,200 ft, mostly shallow.

Surf gullies, estuary mouths and bays 5–100 ft.

Namibia: about October to April; KwaZulu-Natal: winter during the sardine run.

Day and night; often best in the afternoon from the beach.

Pushing tide into deep gullies.

Moderate surf with good water color.

Whole fish, fish heads and big fillets (mullet, mackerel, maasbanker/horse mackerel).

Not usually targeted with lures.

Heavy 13–15 ft surf rod with a big multiplier reel, or heavy boat tackle.

10/0–14/0 non-stainless circle hooks.

40–60 lb mono or 80 lb braid.

Steel cable trace plus a long heavy mono rubbing leader.

Cast a big fish bait into a deep surf gully on a heavy rig and wait; fight the shark hard and land it in the shallows for a quick photo with the head pointed into the waves.

Keep the shark in the water as much as possible, remove the hook with long pliers or cut the trace close, and push it back out past the first wave.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Usually released — a sport fish more than a food fish.

Not recommended — release it.

A large, powerful shark with sharp teeth — keep clear of the head and tail, work as a team, and never drag it up dry sand.

Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Most shark angling in South Africa and Namibia is catch-and-release, and several countries have shark bag or size limits or ban landing — check local rules. Rules are set by each country and state, and many have size or bag limits for this fish — check the local regulations where you fish.

Slow-growing and Vulnerable; release every one.