A Florida man has gotten national attention for his simple act of fishmongery. Patrick Lanier, of Fort Lauderdale FL, recently attempted to sell a shark he happened to catch on the intercoastal waterway. The way he went about trying to sell the creature, though, raised more than a few eyebrows.
Shortly after Lanier–who maintains he caught the shark accidentally, while fishing for other wares–reeled in the great beast, he plunked it into his fish bucket and biked over to the nearest Publix, where he set up shop on the sidewalk outside the front door.
“I felt like a leprechaun, like I struck gold,” said Lanier, who thought he’d have great success selling the shark as it writhed on the sidewalk. Shocked passers-by took cell phone videos, and at least one Florida man castigated Lanier. When Lanier explained he was only asking the bargain basement price of $100, fellow Fort Lauderdalean James Douglas had the following to say:
It’s not on ice. It’s just sitting there on the concrete. Who’s going to buy something like that? I’m just saying, it’s like worthless. It’s like saying, ‘This animal’s worthless. You can buy it if you want.’
By way of defense, Lanier said “Every so often I’d throw some water on it.”
As soon as the Publix management team got wind of what Lanier was doing, they asked him to leave, and he did so. Lanier said he discovered while trying to sell the shark that it’s illegal to do so without a commercial shark seller’s license, and so he doubts he’ll ever try to hawk his goods in such a fashion again.
According to WSVN Ft. Lauderdale, the only trace of the event is, quite literally, a shark-shaped stain on the pavement at the Publix.
As for the shark itself, Lanier said he released it unharmed into the waterway, and it swam off.
(Photo credits: Screenshots via WSVN; Shark via Flickr)
