THIS is the thrilling moment two fisherman hooked a giant shark – but they were taken aback when they hauled it in.

Shaun Whale and Sammy Hitzke, both from Australia, fought the beast for 4.5 hours before learning their shark had been devoured by another shark.

At 1640 feet deep, the experienced deep-water angler hooked up a swordfish as bait and quickly received a bite.

The men realised they had a shark on their hands right away and braced themselves for a long struggle.

The two fought the beast for about five hours as it tried all in its might to escape their hook.

However, once they ultimately managed to bring the shark up to the boat, they saw something was amiss.

In a video released to Sammy’s YouTube channel, he can be heard stating, “There he is. It’s long and wide.

“That’s a shark.” The shark appears to have been sharked. I’m not sure what’s going on there. It’s a colossal Thresher.”

The men realised their capture had already been another shark’s food after reeling in the massive shark all the way.

“This is epic, truly epic,” Sammy exclaimed. He’s missing three-quarters of himself. That is a true deep-sea monster.”

Later, when the couple hauled the massive fish onto their boat, Shaun described how unusual their find was.

“I’m really fatigued, but this could be the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen in the water,” he remarked.

“I’ve done a lot of fishing, spent a lot of time out on the big blue and not once did I think I’d find a thresher shark eaten by something, that I imagine was absolutely massive.

“This is a true predator of the depths – Now he’s just food for another shark.