'Taxman' swoops in to claim share of freshly harpooned swordfish

A Southern California fish spotter on Sunday shared an image showing a mako shark as it circled a commercial fishing boat in the hope of completing its meal.

“10-foot Mako Shark that ate the head and tail off of our harpooned Swordfish,” Carl Sbarounis, the boat’s spotter, described via Instagram. “It also bit the dart line off. So we raced over and got it back. He swam around the boat the whole time.”

What was left of the swordfish is visible at the vessel’s stern.

Predictably, the subject of taxes was raised in the comments:

–“The taxman is out for payment.”

–“Taxes! Taxes!”

Sharks are notorious for stealing hooked game fish or, in this case, commercially harpooned swordfish. When this occurs, the sharks are invariably referred to as tax collectors.

Sbarounis also posted a video clip showing the mako shark circling the swordfish. The footage was set to the 1966 Beatles song, “Taxman.”