An enormous thresher shark nearly twice as heavy as the previous largest known specimen has been caught off the coast of Cornwall.

Roger Nowell, a trawler fisherman, caught the 16ft (5m) shark which, at 1,250lb (568kg), is much larger than the previous record-holder, a 723lb (329kb) specimen caught by rod off Hawaii in 2005.

"Seeing that come out of the water was a bit of a shock," said Mr Nowell, who had been trawling for squid and John Dory off Land's End.

"It was alive and a bit difficult to handle for a few minutes. It was a different haul from what I am used to, that is for sure.

“I have sharks in a trawl before, but the method of fishing we use is not designed to catch sharks at all."

Mr Nowell landed his catch at Newlyn harbour in west Cornwall yesterday, and word soon got around of the giant fish.

Scores of people packed into the fish market in Penzance at 6.30am today to get a glimpse of the shark when it was sold.

Elizabeth Stevenson, whose firm W Stevenson and Sons runs the market, said the rumour was that it might now be stuffed and put on display.

She said: “There was an awful lot of interest from people watching and wanting to see the shark. There was not too much interest in buying it - it is difficult to physically move and sell that amount of fish.

“We’ve heard that there is a possibility it may not be eaten but stuffed instead.”

The shark was bought by Julian Smart of Smart’s Prime Fish, who said – Damien Hirst, take note – that he was expecting to sell the shark whole rather than butcher it and sell it piecemeal.

According to reports, it is the second giant thresher shark to be caught in Cornish waters in a month. At the end of October Alan Fairless, 39, was tending his shellfish pots when he found a shark trapped in his ropes.

Unable to haul the 400kg fish aboard he and his crew called for a trawler to help, and their catch was unloaded at Gribben Head, near Mevagissey, by a forklift truck. It was sold for £340.

Threshers feed off mackerel and herring, and range the world’s warm and temperate oceans, including the east and west Atlantic.

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