Texas fisherman: Facebook removed photo of huge hammerhead shark for violating site rules

Corpus Christi resident Eric Ozolins caught this massive 13-foot-long greater hammerhead shark on the weekend of June 4, 2016. Corpus Christi resident Eric Ozolins caught this massive 13-foot-long greater hammerhead shark on the weekend of June 4, 2016. Photo: Courtesy/Eric Ozolins Photo: Courtesy/Eric Ozolins Image 1 of / 98 Caption Close Texas fisherman: Facebook removed photo of huge hammerhead shark for violating site rules 1 / 98 Back to Gallery

Corpus Christi fisherman Eric Ozolins posted some amazing photos last weekend of a giant hammerhead shark he caught on Facebook, but the social media site reportedly removed the photos Wednesday for violating terms and policy.

“Facebook had removed my recent post and hammerhead photos due to going against 'terms and policy'.” Ozolins said on Facebook. “Wow. There was not a single thing against any terms etc. Not that I am worried about it, I'm just amazed (or rather appalled) by how they can gain influence from uneducated tree-huggers and break their own rules to remove something rather innocent despite all the other horrendous stuff they fail to remove on their actual system.”

RELATED: Corpus Christi man catches massive 13-foot-long hammerhead shark off the coast of Padre Island

A Facebook representative told mySA.com the post was removed because it was believed to depict poaching, a criminal act. Under Facebook's community standards, users cannot post photos that depict criminal activity or celebrate criminal activity.

Another reason the post was removed: Hammerhead sharks are an endangered species, the Facebook representative said.

Based on information provided by Facebook, the site will remove content that promotes violent and graphic content, hate speech, nudity, self-injury, criminal activity, sexual violence and exploitation, and direct threats, among several other violations.

But Ozolins isn’t letting the recent removal of his photos from crushing his spirit, but he’s warning others of what could happen if you post photos of shark catches online.

“Oh well, so is life... Just a warning to anyone out there who actually posts a photo of a shark, they are coming after you!” Ozolins said.

RELATED: San Antonio-area man catches huge bull shark on Texas coast, wins $20,000 at Sharkathon

Ozolins posted photos of the catch on Sunday. The creature measured 13 feet long, and had a girth of 80 inches.

He studied fishing at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi.

Padre Island National Seashore education coordinator William “Buzz” Botts said Ozolins is a great shark fisherman.

Hammerhead sharks commonly show up in gulf waters and near the shore, according to previous mySA.com reports.

It is also possible Facebook deemed the photos to be “graphic,” but that’s all speculation without a direct explanation from the social media site. It’s also possible someone found the photos offensive and reported them to Facebook, prompting their removal.

In 2014, Texas cheerleader Kendall Jones had several of her hunting photos removed by Facebook administrators. The reason being, according to Mashable, is the photos were “graphic images shared for sadistic effect or to celebrate or glorify violence.”

"We remove reported content that promotes poaching of endangered species, the sale of animals for organized fight or content that includes extreme acts of animal abuse," a Facebook spokesperson told the publication.

RELATED: New video released of 'biggest shark ever filmed'

Facebook also came under fire this week for removing a meme of convicted rapist Brock Turner, which said “MY NAME IS BROCK IM A RAPIST.” The content was reportedly removed “in error.”

“This content was removed in error, and we are currently working to restore it. Our team processes millions of reports each week, and we sometimes get things wrong. We’re very sorry about this mistake,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to Gizmodo.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite