It was more than five feet long, but it definitely wasnsa国际传媒檛 a keeper.

Nanaimo fisherman Roy Ban reeled in a sixgill shark last week in relatively shallow waters just off Entrance Island.

Ban had been fishing for cod that day but hadnsa国际传媒檛 landed any of catchable size, and was about to head in.

sa国际传媒淲e had our baby and he was crying, so I said, one more drop,sa国际传媒� said Ban.

Thatsa国际传媒檚 when he happened to snag something out of the ordinary.

sa国际传媒淚 could totally tell it was a big one, just the way of how heavy it was and the way it fought sa国际传媒� I just wasnsa国际传媒檛 sure what it was,sa国际传媒� he said.

About 15-20 minutes of fighting brought the fish into view, and Ban said he thought it was some kind of shark, but it fought its way back down and it took the angler another 15-20 minutes to tire it out and bring it to the surface for a second time.

sa国际传媒淚 had a better look at it and I still wasnsa国际传媒檛 sure what kind of shark it was,sa国际传媒� Ban said, adding that he just clipped his line at that point and let the shark go.

Since that day, Ban said a shark expert confirmed the catch was a sixgill shark. Fisheries and Oceans Canada lists the sixgill as one of seven shark species common to British Columbia and notes that the sixgill prefers to remain on the ocean floor and can grow up to 16 feet.

Ban shared his video with his fishing Facebook group and said someone there mentioned they caught a sixgill a few years ago in Barkley Sound on Vancouver Islandsa国际传媒檚 west coast.

sa国际传媒淏ut on this side, in Nanaimo, I just didnsa国际传媒檛 know we had that, especially in that shallow water,sa国际传媒� Ban said.

Even though his catch wasnsa国际传媒檛 a keeper, it was worth all that reeling.

sa国际传媒淚 had to bring it in, to see what it was,sa国际传媒� he said.

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