Freeport fisherman shares shark tale

FREEPORT, TX

We're now hearing from the fisherman who was on board with the live shark as it thrashed around for hours. Now he and the shark have become celebrities.

On Tuesday, it was a draw. On Wednesday, you had to wait in line.

"It's just been crazy, we've had people piling in the door, I mean huge numbers of people coming in," said Mark Friudenberg with Captain Mark's Seafood Market. The large freezer at Captain Mark's Seafood Market has become part petting zoo, photography student and walk-in biology classroom.

You can even talk to the man who can tell you exactly how a giant 375-pound mako shark got there.

"Next thing you know, something hits the side of the boat and we look back and it's about 15 foot up in the air and I yell, "Shark!" Jason Kresse said.

Kresse and his two crewmen just finished a commercial fishing job. But the mako shark wasn't what they were trying to catch.

"It's mouth was wide open," he said. "I got marks on my fish box in the front that the teeth marks go in about a quarter inch or so where it was just biting it."

The mako shark jumped into the 25-foot boat, but that wasn't the only concern. They had taken on 375 extra pounds.

"We didn't want to sink," Kresse said.

How did they really react?

"So tell me honestly, did any of you guys scream?" we asked him.

"Oh yeah, definitely, I'm not going to lie there," Kresses responded. "It was unreal."

It hasn't exactly been bad for business. The shark will be mounted on the wall of the store. And maybe they should rethink Freeport's claim to fame.

On Thursday, the shark will be moved to a local school for show and tell and there is even talk of making T-shirts to sell.