Scranton  attorney Michael Roth has been fishing since 1959, and has traveled around the world to pursue his hobby. “Fishing simply takes me to amazing places,” he told me, “from Alaska to Panama to the Eastern Caribbean.”  In January, Roth went on a fishing trip to the Turks and Caicos. While targeting sharks off Provo, he saw a huge blacktip shark cruise by and threw a red and orange fly in its path.

According to the International Game Fishing Association, the largest blacktip shark ever caught using the gear Roth was using (a fly rod with M-10 KG line) was 77 pounds. This blacktip was over 120 pounds, and would have easily set a new world record for this line class. However, International Game Fishing Association regulations require that animals submitted for a record must be weighed at an official weigh station. In this case (and in many other cases), this would have required killing the animal, as it would not have survived transport to the weigh station. Instead, Roth took a quick photo and released the shark.

“While I would love to be a world record holder, the thought of killing this beautiful animal was completely abhorrent to me,” Roth told me. “I felt so fortunate to have hooked and landed this spectacular fish. Killing it was always out of the question. Releasing this fish, and for me all fish,  to keep the species healthy is a top priority for me. I always encourage all anglers to catch and release.”