Hustle By Any Means: Man Catches Shark Then Tries To Sell It In Front Of A Supermarket!

A South Florida man had plans to turn a catch into cash, as he attempted to sell a live shark outside a Publix Thursday evening.

Shoppers outside a Publix Supermarket on 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale said a man hauled in the five-foot nurse shark, dropped it on the sidewalk and tried to sell it.

Friday evening, 7News caught up to Patrick Lanier, the man who tried to sell the live shark, and he said he reeled in the marine predator on the Intracoastal Waterway. Lanier said he was hoping to make about $100 from selling the shark, but no one seemed interested. "On top of it, it's not on ice. It's just sitting there on the concrete," said Publix shopper James Douglas. This amateur shark salesman is not the first of his kind. In 2009, a South Florida man brought a nurse shark for a ride on the Miami Metromover and hauled it on his bike on his way to two sales stops along the Miami River.

According to Publix officials, once managers figured out what Lanier was doing, they asked him to leave, and he did so politely. With no takers Thursday, Lanier said, he released the shark back into the water on the Intracoastal, where it swam away. It it not legal in the state of Florida to sell a shark you have caught without a commercial license, something Lanier said he figured out while trying to find a buyer. He said he's learned his lesson, and it's unlikely he'll ever do it again.
Posted By PSmooth