OUTDOOR NOTES : Great White Shark Caught Off Catalina

Darkness had long fallen over the sea, and skipper Frank Vuoso and the crew of the St. George II had wrapped their net around a school of mackerel and prepared for what they thought would be another uneventful haul.

What these commercial fishermen didn’t know was that in the middle of this particular school of mackerel, found last Thursday not far off the Catalina coast, was a large and angry shark--a great white that would measure 14 1/2 feet and weigh 2,400 pounds.

As the nine-man crew methodically hauled in the net, they noticed a looming mass of leathery gray, swimming peacefully until the nylon trap began to close.

“Everybody started getting excited when this thing started thrashing around in the net, trying to get out,” Vuoso recalled. “It realized it was trapped and was causing quite a commotion.”

The shark rocked the 87-foot vessel as it tore at the net with its razor-sharp teeth, shaking its massive body in what had become a desperate struggle for survival.

Vuoso, concerned that this creature was threatening his livelihood--the cost of a net runs well into the thousands--and the lives of his crew, put a bullet into the animal.

The shark let go of the net, and the crew reluctantly began to work around the shark and unload the mackerel. Suddenly, the shark came to life, flailing violently in a last-gasp attempt at freedom.

It stopped moving for good when Vuoso put another bullet in its head. The shark was hoisted by the tail onto the boat. “Then we realized the enormity of the thing, really how big it was,” Vuoso, 51, said. “Everybody was dumbfounded. None of us had ever seen anything like that. We’ve been on the ocean all our lives and. . . . “

Add great white: The shark catch was considered timely by the San Pedro fishing community, since it occurred shortly before last weekend’s Fishermen’s Festival, a three-day event staged each year at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Vuoso had put the fish on ice, and when he returned to port, placed it on exhibit.

Said Carolyn Brownell, office manager for the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce: “People were coming from all around to the wharf to see this shark, and they said, ‘Oh, look, there’s a fiesta going on. Our attendance was way up because of the shark, so next year we’ve got to get another shark.’ ”

Second add great white: The shark was donated to the Cabrillo Marine Museum, which would have liked to have put it on display. Unfortunately, the fish had become a little too ripe.

“The majority of it is off to rendering plant. It’s pretty rotten,” said Mike Schaadt, exhibits director for the museum. “The jaws go to the fishermen, the fins are going to be used by our outreach people to show to kids.”

Besides, Schaadt said, “We already have a beautiful one on display, even bigger. It’s 16 feet long and 3,500 pounds.”

Last add great white: Officials on Catalina said they were not concerned that a shark of such proportions was taken near an island so popular with water-loving tourists.

Wayne Griffin, director of the Avalon Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that the catch took place on the backside of the island, where few tourists venture and where even fewer swim.

“I’ve been on the island 13 years and I have yet to hear of a shark sighting around the Avalon area,” Griffin said. “We sure wouldn’t cover up a danger or concern, but (the catch) is just a non-event for us.”

Briefly

SALTWATER--Squid remain in Southland waters, making for good catches of calico bass and fair catches of white seabass and yellowtail, primarily off the Channel Islands. Meanwhile, private and commercial boats fishing above Baja’s Magdalena Bay are reporting waters full of tuna, dorado and other species, including blue and black marlin. “The guys are calling it a fantasyland of fishing,” said John Doughty, a Balboa Island retailer who maintains contact with fishermen via marine radio. “Most of the yachts at this time of the year travel to Cabo San Lucas, but en route they’re finding better fishing. They just can’t make any time--they get stopped for hours at a time.”

TOURNAMENTS--The Santa Monica Bay Celebity Pro-Am fishing tournament, to be held Saturday out of Marina del Rey, could not have been better-timed, coming on the heels of a recently released state study bringing to light pollution problems in Southland waters.

Proceeds go to Heal the Bay, a conservation group dedicated to a cleaner Santa Monica Bay. Cost: $30 for individuals and $10 for team members. Details: (213) 623-8964.

Overall winners in the recently concluded Saltwater Whoppers Derby, by category: Barracuda and bonito: Ken Tulao, Sherman Oaks, 10-pound barracuda; California halibut: Jason Uyeda, Simi Valley, 31-pound 8-ounce halibut; Kelp and sand bass: Rick Naber, Sylmar, 9-pound 2-ounce sand bass; Seabass, yellowtail and albacore: David Chadbourne, Tustin, 45-11 white seabass; Bigeye, bluefin and yellowfin tuna: Robert Yamane, Canyon Country, 49-0 bigeye; Rockfish and lingcod: Dave Becker, Port Hueneme, 25-8 lingcod. The first four places in each category will fish in a fish-off on Oct. 19 aboard the Condor out of Santa Barbara’s SEA Landing.

MISCELLANY--Raahague’s Pheasant Hunting Club in Norco will hold a falconry exhibition and hawking meet, with all birds to be flown on game, Saturday at 8 a.m. Admission is $5. . . . Classes in big game fishing will be held Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 8:30, beginning Oct. 15, at East Los Angeles College. Instructor: Al Zapanta. (213) 265-8793.