The moment a businessman captured a tiger shark and shot it to death has been captured on camera in Mexico.

In the video, the shark is hooked by a group of men on board a small vessel off the coast of Veracruz. Dragging the shark along next to the vessel, the men begin to shoot at the creature and the sea turns red.

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According to Spanish media El Pais, one of the men involved was reportedly businessman Francisco Ruiz, the son of the prominent billionaire Valentin Ruiz who died in 2014.

Tiger sharks are not endangered in the Gulf of Mexico, but they are listed worldwide as "near threatened". In Mexico, a special permit is required to fish the animal.

Commonly known as the "Sea Tiger", tiger sharks are common in tropical waters throughout the world and can grow as large as 20 to 25 feet in length.

The animals are harvested for their fins, skin and flesh and their livers are known to contain high levels of vitamin A, which is processed into vitamin tablets and oils.

Tiger sharks have low repopulation rates, so are susceptible to overfishing.

Shark shot to death
The shark was shot from a small vessel YouTube
Sharks Mexico