'Shark man' catches tiger shark at New Jersey beach
PJ Braun shares how he caught a seven-foot sand tiger shark in Sea Isle City, NJ.
P.J. Braun is known as the "shark man" — so it's not surprising, in a way, that he caught a seven-foot sand tiger shark recently in Sea Isle City, New Jersey.
This "definitely gained a lot of attention. I didn't really expect this to end up on the news, but here we are, getting the opportunity to talk about sharks," Braun said Wednesday morning on "Fox & Friends."
He added, "It's a passion that I love."
Braun teaches kids and others how to fish.
SHARK QUIZ! HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR SHARKS THIS SUMMER?
Regarding his release of the sand tiger shark, he said, "Everyone's obviously happy to see healthy release."
Braun also noted that he has his great-grandfather's fishing rod — so fishing is something that goes way back in his family circle.
P.J. Braun appeared Wednesday on "Fox and Friends" to discuss his wild fishing adventure — and his theories about why we're seeing bigger sharks closer to shore this year. (Fox News)
"Everyone's always excited out there when we're fishing, to see what we bring in," he said.
"And it's great to get the kids involved, especially my younger cousins."
"This is the ocean. This is where sharks live."
Braun also said that — given the past few years of the COVID-19 pandemic and with everyone "being inside" recently — it's been great to be outside and to be involving others and teaching them about fishing.
"It's been great … and [it's been] great for the sport," he said.
Said Braun on Wednesday morning on "Fox and Friends": "This year we've caught a lot of bigger sharks. We've had a colder water season … That's just my fishing theory." (Fox News)
Regarding whether or not he's seen bigger sharks closer to shore recently, Braun replied, "This is the ocean. This is where sharks live."
He added, "The sport has grown a lot. That's why it may be getting [more] of the attention [lately]."
Ready for its closeup: This photo taken on July 5, 2022, shows a sand tiger shark in the Scientific Center aquarium, Hawalli Governorate, Kuwait. (Asad/Xinhua via Getty Images)
"This year we've caught a lot of bigger sharks. We've had a colder water season, so I do think that some of the bigger sharks are coming in and some of the smaller sharks are [staying further out]," said Braun.
He also said, "I'm not a scientist, but that's just my fishing theory."
"It's the ocean, it's where sharks live, it's their home," he emphasized.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
To learn more about this man's catch and release of the sand tiger shark, watch the video at the top of this article, or click here to access it.
Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more.