Dan D’alessio, 34, and AJ Rotondella were out on the water near the Treasure Coast, US, on April 4 when they caught a whopping 15ft sea creature, which is the “biggest they’ve ever seen”

The private chef from Middletown, New Jersey, and his local fishing guide pal couldn’t believe they’d found a sawfish, which is a critically endangered species and can grow up to 7.6 metres, after 10 minutes.

It is estimated that the creature they captured was around “700-800lbs” and “13-15ft-long”.

After assessing the sawfish, the pair managed to release it safely before contacting the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to report the catch.

Dan said: “We were not attempting to catch sawfish, but we landed it just 10 minutes after we got the bite.

“Sawfish are critically endangered. Certain areas have a resident population, but by no means are they abundant.

“Typically they are not a threat to humans, but due to their size and the weapon they yield on their face, they can be dangerous if provoked. They are very strong animals.

“There’s no way to tell for sure how big it was, but probably near 700-800lbs.”

After the sawfish was released the pair carried on fishing and caught a bull shark.

The news comes after heart-stopping footage captured the moment a huge tiger shark attacked an unsuspecting kayaker off the coast of Hawaii.

Scott Haraguchi was out on the water filming his fishing antics with a GoPro when the ocean beast charged towards his kayak.

In the clip, the tiger shark was seen launching towards Scott, opening its jaws as it crashed into the boat.