Holly Springs man catches blacktip shark off Emerald Isle coast

EMERALD ISLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A college student from Holly Springs caught a blacktip shark at Emerald Isle.

Jarrett Finch, a sophomore at UNC-Charlotte, said he was fishing off the coast with cut croaker as bait when he snagged the shark.

It took him around 30 minutes to reel the shark to shore.

Finch said he took a couple of pictures with the shark and then released it back into the water.

Blacktip sharks live in tropical and subtropical waters. In the Atlantic Ocean, they can be found from Massachusetts all the way down to Brazil.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, since records began 29 people have been bitten by blacktip sharks with one of those dying from their injuries.