Fishing is one of those things that's meant to make you feel relaxed. I mean, think about it - a nice long day at your fishing spot reeling up a catch or two with a lounge chair and a cold one... is there anything better?
Well, one influencer ended out having what would be a catch of a lifetime turn into a nightmare. Per the New York Post, Christopher Stefanou, dubbed the "Long Island Sharkman", had a pretty crazy catch recently.
Prosecutors say the 30 year old fishing influencer was specifically hunting for a great white shark to catch last year. And he ended up catching one - but the shark was tracked and tagged.
The shark, named "Aaron", was also being tracked by Stefanou. The fishing influencer had utilized "illegal fishing equipment" to "capture and drag the shark" onto the beach.
Authorities only ended up finding out about the influencer's illegal catch after he boasted about it online. The "Long Island Sharkman" photographed himself with the shark, even taking videos of the catch.
He has been charged with a number of crimes, including cruelty to animals, fishing for shark, mechanical deployment of bait, attempting to capture a shark, and possession of a protected species. He was also hit with a court order demanding the removal of all videos relating to the capture.
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A Country Star Got in Hot Water Over a Similarly Endangered Catch
But, this influencer isn't the only one to be in hot water over going after an endangered species. But some people have defended Cody Johnson after he went on a bear hunt back in June.
We reported on it when it happened - the country star himself spoke out against the critics, saying that his trip to Alaska to hunt bears was justified.
"I caught so much flak for shooting this bear," he explained. "Whereas people in Alaska, they praised it, because when you don't control a predator population like a grizzly bear, it can get out of control really fast."
"A statistic is that a male bear eats between 120 and 150 calves a year - being moose or caribou. So the moose and caribou populations are suffering, and they're having to really regulate hunting on them."
