That was no fish story, it was a real great white shark

The shark caught eight miles off Indian River Inlet earlier this month was a juvenile great white, according to state environmental officials.

DNA tests done at the Guy Harvey Research Institute in Dania, Fla., confirmed the suspicion of state fish and wildlife enforcement officers who discovered the 179-pound fish during a routine inspection.

White sharks, made famous in the summer thriller “Jaws,” are found in offshore waters. It is one of 18-species on the Federal Shark Management Plan prohibited list. It is illegal to possess one.

Lt. Aaron Hurd, a state Fish & Wildlife enforcement officer, said federal Marine Fisheries officials will determine whether charges will be filed against the boat owner, who caught the prohibited fish and brought it to shore.

Hurd said the boat owner told state investigators he thought the shark was a mako.

“It’s simply a misidentification,” he said.

Fines for possession of a prohibited shark species can be in the several thousands of dollars, said Mark Oswell. a spokesman with the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement