Fishing for clout.
An Oregon man is accused of illegally fishing a species of protected sharks in Washington state and then posting strange videos of himself “wrestling” his catch on social media.
Connor Seifert, 27, had been pulling bluntnose sixgill and broadnose sevengill sharks from the state’s Puget Sound and boasting about his illicit prizes for months, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
The freaky fisherman filmed bizarre videos with the sharks after he pulled them out of the water and then shared them on his online accounts.
In one video provided by authorities, Seifert is seen prying open a shark’s mouth while stepping on its back.
In another clip, Seifert holds a different shark by the tail out in the open air while it wriggles around desperately to get back into the water.
Besides the strangeness of his alleged behavior, it’s also illegal to fish for sharks in Puget Sound.
Laws protect angling the seadogs, since they travel to the sound to give birth to their pups that later travel out to the ocean, according to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.
At least 14 complaints had been made to the department regarding Seifert’s illegal fishing, authorities said.
Investigators finally arrested the shark snatcher in a sting after a months-long investigation, which had them closely following his movements in person and online.
Video shows the tense moment officers confront Seifert over his alleged “wrestle” with the sharks.
“You know your shark rules!” the officer is seen scolding the fisherman in the footage.
The cop reminded Seifert that fishing the sharks hurts their offspring – and is against the law.
“Once they exhaust themselves being fought to shore, then all of their babies die,” the officer says, according to the clip.
“And then, sooner than you know it, you’re not going to have sixgill and sevengill returning to Puget Sound anymore.”
Seifert was hit with nine counts of unlawful recreational fishing in the second degree and a count of making a false statement to a public servant, cops said.
He pleaded not guilty in Pierce County District Court, records show.
Neither Seifert nor his lawyer could be immediately reached for comment.
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