Fishermen catch REAL monster from the deep for first time in nearly 100 years

The rare basking shark was caught by a trawler in Australia on Sunday

Terrifying: Deckhand James Owen poses with the basking shark caught off Portland.

A terrifying beast more than 20 feet long and weighing a staggering three tons has been hauled from the deep in Australia for the first time in nearly 100 years.

But despite its gruesome appearance, this giant basking shark is completely harmless to humans since it only eats plankton.

The rare find was caught by a trawler in Portland in south west Victoria on Sunday.

The last time there was a recorded capture of this species in the country was in the 1930s, by a skipper at Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria.

Researchers are now hoping this unusual discovery will help them learn more about the lifestyle and habits of the world's second largest fish.

Wealth of information: Researchers will now analyse the beast to learn more about the species

Dianne Bray, a senior collector at the Museum of Victoria told the Australian Broadcasting Company the last time the species was discovered before the 1930s find was in 1883.

She added the museum had some skin and teeth from that specimen, discovered in a similar area to the current discovery, as well as some gill arches from the one discovered more than 80 years ago.

She said it was very unusual to find basking sharks in southern Australia as they normally follow plankton blooms which are rare in that part of the world.

She said the discovery would uncover new areas of research including using vertebrae to work out how old the specimen was.

What a whopper: A museum official measures the giant basking shark accidentally picked up by a fishing trawler in the Bass Strait off the Australian mainland's most southeastern point

They would also take skin samples and muscle tissue to map its DNA and work out what it actually eats.

Ms Bray said: "One of the ideas we have, if it's in good condition, is to make a cast of the fins and the head so we can make a model of a basking shark."

She said researchers would use the specimen to try and learn more about the looking to track the shark's movements.

Rare: This is the first time the 20ft long beast has been captured in Australia since the 1930s

"I think that they're solitary, but honestly, we don't know enough about them," she said.

"It's great to have the record to start with, and the more sightings and records that we get, the better. One shark's probably not going to tell us everything about what's going on down there, but the more information we have from specimens, the bigger picture we can build up about their life history and what they're doing."

The plankton-eating sharks, which can grow up to 40ft long, were named because they often spend time near the surface basking in the sun.