Talk about a big fish—an expedition crew has hauled up—and released—what the team says is the biggest great white shark yet caught.

The 17.9-foot-long (5.5-meter-long) male behemoth was found off Mexico’s Guadalupe Island (map) in fall 2009.

The animal breaks the team’s previous record of 16.8 feet (5.1 meters), set when they caught a female great white named Kimel. (Both records are unofficial and not maintained by a formal organization.)

The new titleholder was named Apache after the dog of Brett McBride, boat captain on the National Geographic Channel show Shark Men. (The National Geographic Channel is part-owned by the National Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News.)

Shark Men chronicles the work of scientists and fishers who catch and release great whites in an effort to figure out where the mysterious giants breed and give birth. The scientific team is led by Michael Domeier, president and executive director of the Marine Conservation Science Institute.

The two-ton Apache put up a fight—at one point breaking free from his barbless hook, said expedition leader Chris Fischer.

“The battle with Apache was like nothing we’ve ever dealt with,” Fischer said.

Once on board, the researchers fitted the fish with a satellite-tracking tag, took a blood sample, and released him, watching him vigorously swim away.

(See related pictures: “‘Shark Elevator’ Lifts Great Whites From Sea.”)

“He was all scarred up and had big marks all over him—you could tell he was just a bad-ass shark,” Fischer said.

“It was so impressive and so humbling to be near him.”

read more @ nationalgeographic.com

Rerip is proud to announce the establishment of its first surfboard Recycling location outside of San Diego County.  NollSurfboards in San Clemente is now accepting surfboards for recycling, becoming the newest Rerip recycling location and the first to expand the program outside the San Diego area.

Noll Surfboards hosted its grand opening on March 26^th, 2011.  The shop combines a retail surf emporium with a small but functional surfboard manufacturing facility and an ocean-oriented art gallery. This art gallery features fine art paintings and sculptures as well as an array of those classic re-creation surfboards. Jed Noll, Surfboard Shaper,shop owner and son of surfing great Greg Noll, is excited to have a recycling component at the location.  “We are excited to incorporate a surfboard collection component into our shop offerings.  In addition to providing artistic inspiration and classic surfboard construction, it’s just one more way we can be a positive surf resource for the San Clemente community.”

Surfboards in any condition can be dropped off at Rerip recycling locations, including Noll Surfboards.  Donated boards are separated into categories—surfable, repairable, and creative.  Surfable and repairable boards are donated to local and international youth programs or resold at low prices to support the recycling program. Unrideable boards and remnants are used for the Rerip artist network and research and development opportunities. Rerip connects with a growing number of artists who use the boards for artistic endeavors, including paintings, sculptures and furniture.  Other boards are tested for lifespan features aiming to promote new cleaner surfboard construction materials and method

read more at rerip

read more at ripcurl.com