Rav,
They HAD a reason for catching it- to prove that they were the best fisherman out there... a better preditor than the shark. It's sad that they were late to the weigh in, because they would have certianly won.
Your from FL, so you know that a lot of those tourney fish are also bought up by hotels, restraunts, etc after the weigh-in. This guy will probably be carefully skinned, make a heck of a lot of shark fin soup and 'scallops' (most often what are called 'scallops' are just flavored pieces of ray and shark meat) and his hide will be prepared and mounted... a pretty noble tribute to the beast in itself. Hundreds of thousands will admire it, and the skill and strength of the men that brought it in.
It didn't die in vein.