Shark Video Triggers Some Backlash

(March 13) -- You've probably seen it by now: stunning video footage of a spear-fisherman battling a tiger shark in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana. The video became an online sensation this week, but not all viewers are fans of what they saw. The underwater fight resulted in the shark's death -- a killing that some viewers say was unjustified.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune has a good background piece on the circumstances that led to the fight, which took place in June.

Spear-fisherman Craig Clasen and two friends were looking for yellowfin tuna when they encountered the shark, he told the newspaper. The trio was accompanied by Ryan McInnis, a videographer, and D.J. Struntz, a photographer, who were working on a promotional video for a fishing company.

Struntz and Clasen were hauling a fish to the surface, Clasen said, when he heard McInnis scream. According to accounts in the Times-Picayune and CNN, a shark went after the videographer. "The shark turned and came right in at me," McInnis told CNN.

A two-hour fight followed. It ended with Clasen killing the shark with a long blade.

CNN was among the media outlets that aired footage of the encounter. In a follow-up interview with McInnis, Clasen and Stuntz, CNN's Rob Marciano said the story caused a "public outcry" among some viewers. They asserted Clasen didn't have to kill the shark.

Clasen said he took no joy in killing the shark. "We really wanted to have a different outcome here, but unfortunately that wasn't possible," he told Marciano.

The killing was "absolutely not" for show, Clasen said. "It was so remorseful for us. It was a quiet boat ride home."

You can watch the video below.

Why is the story coming out now? Because Outside magazine recounts the shark fight in a March feature story on spear-fishermen in the gulf. Clasen told the magazine that on the way home from the kill, the friends ate a filet of the shark, sashimi-style. It tasted "terrible," he said.