Man v shark - video of US man catching shark with bare hands goes viral

Footage of a man catching a small shark with his bare hands has gone viral after it was posted to Instagram this week. Photo: Facebook - Alex Winn and Nick Cullen

Footage of a man catching a small shark with his bare hands has gone viral after it was posted to Instagram this week.

The man, identified as Alex Winn, caught the shark after jumping into the water from a dock at Oyster Plank Park in the western US state of Washington.

Fox News reported that the crowd cheered as Winn threw the thrashing shark on the dock, where another man held it down and curious onlookers, including two dogs, watched.

Winn defended his actions in a caption, saying he let the shark go immediately after the video stopped, and made sure it swam off.

But not everyone was impressed.

Ellen Walden was one of those who commented on the video after it spread on Facebook.

"Looks like a dogfish. Part of me wished he got pricked by one of those nasty barbs. Jackass."

Bill Pongo also took aim on Facebook at Winn's actions.

"Wow now we are broadcasting people catching baby sharks like it's just ok. This isn't even the legal size. Maybe he should be reported for harassing wildlife."

Gary Hegland wrote that the shark was a spiny dog fish.

"He was lucky he didn't get hit by the poisonous spine behind the dorsal fin. That would have gotten his attention."