'As bad as those Americans shooting lions and elephants': Fisherman catch huge tiger shark that could be a new world record – but refuse to talk about the catch because of the abuse they’ve received online

A group of fishermen have been so heavily criticised for hauling in a potentially record-breaking shark that they will not discuss the catch.

An image of three unidentified men standing next to a huge tiger shark caught on Australia Day, reportedly weighing 635.5 kg and reeled in using a 15 kg line - which could be a world record - sparked extreme reactions.

The picture, posted to Facebook page Offshore Fishing NSW, was reportedly taken at Lake Macquarie New South Wales where the shark was weighed, but as the men who caught it have not commented, further information about the catch is not available.

Their silence has been attributed to the massive backlash they received by a fisherman who was not involved in the catch but wanted to remain anonymous, Fairfax reported. 

More than 2,400 comments have been made on the picture, and it is hard to find many in support of the anglers.

Cynthia Tucker wrote: 'You guys need to protect not kill, what joy can be got from taking the life of such a magnificent creature. Shame on you'. 

'D***heads', 'Disgusting', 'dumb f***s', 'pathetic, 'a***holes' and 'c***s' are just some of the things the men have been called.

The man who caught the shark refused to speak to Fairfax, directing them to the Lake Macquarie Game Fishing Club.

Its secretary, Casey Sadler, would not comment, and the president, Paul Hogg, failed to reply to 'repeated' attempts to contact him.

Local fishermen would not speak either, saying the backlash was not worth it.

While positive comments on the photograph were hard to find, they did exist.

One poster, Geoff Marsh, called for reason, writing: 'Did anyone consider there was no intention to catch and kill it? It was a side affect [sic] of the hook up? Got to love social media. Everyone has a conclusion without all of the facts. 

Kieran N Ash wrote: 'Top job boys... If people don't like this picture, why follow the page or comment? Simple don't like it move on. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean everyone hates.'

By Sunday evening, the picture of the men with the shark had been 'liked' on Facebook more than 3,800 times and shared nearly 4,000 times.