Shark Week kicked off with a splash as Brett Rutledge reeled in a potential state record-breaking tiger shark at the 90th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo at Dauphin Island. The colossal creature tipped the scales at a staggering 1,019 pounds, surpassing the previous record of 988.5 pounds set in 1990.

At the end of the week we have learned about sharks in the Florida Keys getting high on millions of pounds of cocaine being dumped into the waters by drug traffickers.

The shark caught at the 90th annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo at Dauphin Island is being reviewed for record specifications. Dr. Marcus Drymon, assistant rodeo judge and professor at Mississippi State University, who was thrilled with the opportunity to examine the species. Drymon is considered an expert on this shark species that inhabits the Gulf of Mexico, and he has a team of researchers ready to collect data from any shark weighed in at the rodeo, which had separate categories for tiger sharks and bull sharks, both managed by NOAA Fisheries. In addition to Rutledge’s shark, Eric Van Driessche weighed in a 656.4-pound tiger, and Cody Crumbley landed a 601.5-pounder. In the bull shark category, Conner Blake weighed in a 354-pounder, followed by Chris Phelps at 330.5 pounds and Nicholas Jordan at 207 pounds.

Many anglers are reporting more shark encounters offshore when fishing for reef fish or trolling for big game species. The sharks are preying on the hooked fish, and anglers are reeling in half-eaten target species. Drymon said it depends on how you look at it when it comes to shark populations.

“To me, it’s a perception issue,” he said. “Are there more sharks in the water than 10 years ago? The answer is yes. The more important question to me is are there more sharks in the water than 40 or 50 years ago? The answer is no. It’s what scientists call a shifting baseline. The farther we get removed from a virgin biomass of a population, the less accurate we remember what that population originally looked like.

“As these sharks were overfished in the 70s and 80s, their populations really plummeted. The populations are recovering now, which is a blessing. But many of the species have still not reached their target rebuilding goals.”

Drymon said one example of a shark species that has been protected from harvest in recent years because of perceived low populations is the sandbar shark, which is one of the ridgeback species with a raised ridge of skin from the dorsal fin down its back. The dorsal fin is also very large and located closer to the nose than the tail.

Now that "Shark Week" (month) is officially ending, many locals and getting in the last few weeks of beach time and preparing for schools to open in the next few weeks.