Rare shark surfaces in Nain fishing net

People in the Inuit community of Nain, N.L. got a taste of a rare delicacy recently after a fisherman caught a shark in one of his Arctic char nets.

Eric Webb caught the 200-kilogram porbeagle shark just north of the community on the Labrador coast.

Porbeagles are considered an endangered species in Canada, though there is a commercial fishery for the shark in Atlantic Canada with a modest quota.

Porbeagle sharks aren't normally found north of the Straits of Belle Isle, however,and Webb said few people in Nain can remember ever seeing the shark in the area before.

"I was talking to one of the older guys here and he said they used to get them years ago in the their cod traps from Black Island," Webb told CBC News. "But they didn't know if that was actually the same kind or not."

Webb cut off the shark's head to keep as a souvenir and divvied out the meat to people in the community.

Shark meat is a delicacy for some Inuit communities.