6/29/09 So who got the thresher at Capitola on the yak?

Hey there, congrats on landing the thresher.  I for one know what a battle they give.  After I caught mine I landed on the beach.  Picked up the shark with one arm and then punched my other arm right into it's body and pulled the heart out.   Well, maybe it wasn't brutal like that, but I sure did feel like a savage when the whole ordeal was over. 

I'm not one to keep a Shark but here is a little more info from NOAA.

Pacific thresher shark populations are estimated to be high.

Sustainability Status

Biomass: Unknown; Unknown; preliminary analyses of common thresher shark catch in the pelagic drift gillnet fishery operating off the U.S. West Coast indicated that the biomass in 2000 was above the biomass supporting the maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
Overfishing: Unknown; preliminary analyses of common thresher shark catch and effort in the pelagic drift gillnet fishery operating off the U.S. West Coast indicated that the catch-per-unit-effort of thresher sharks was increasing in the late 1990s above historical lows experienced during the early 1990s. Thus, in the U.S. West Coast EEZ, overfishing is not occurring and populations are rebuilding

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/pac_common_thresher.htm

Looks like they mature at about 10' so if we are able to catch one from a Kayak it's going to be a baby.

thanks for the info link about threshers  good to learn something new   

Welcome to the board, and thanks for the report.

Whether some of us are "touchy" or "informed fisherman" we're definitely opinionated...but don't let any of us discourage you from posting here! Whether we agree with keeping the shark or not, the fact is that it was a legal catch and you have every right to do with it as you see fit. Glad to see it was eaten and enjoyed.

ditto