Roughly 35 boats took part in the 30th annual North Atlantic Monster Shark Tournament out of New Bedford this weekend. Anglers took to Buzzards Bay in hopes of catching the largest porbeagle, mako, and thresher sharks.

Tournament official Matt Phillips tells WBSM News in addition to the sportsmanship, the event shows the public the reality of sharks. "The few sharks we bring in, the goal of that is the impact that it makes by showing the audience a real live shark actually demystifies it. And we want to show people that they're not monsters, per se," said Phillips.

Phillips says he gets a kick out of the look on people's faces when a shark is brought in. "I gotta tell you, the awe and the amazement, and gobsmacked, I saw yesterday. And to see it on kids' faces. Childred who will never have the ability ever to touch one of these animals."

Over the course of the tournament, at least three porbeagle sharks were caught. Two of them were undersized by the tournament's standards.

The sharks were dissected with the organs to be studied by scientists, and the meat given back to the fishermen.

All of the funds raised are donated to local fishing industry causes.

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