Rosie O'Donnell took to Twitter Wednesday to defend herself after she took a boatload of criticism for fishing for and killing hammerhead sharks in the waters off Miami Beach.
O'Donnell, 49, came under fire after pics of the TV star and her family posing with dead hammerheads were posted on Miami charter boat captain Mark "The Shark" Quartiano's website, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
"I love the ocean - i am on it daily in miami - chill people - really - my family fishes," O'Donnell Tweeted.
Earlier this month, Florida banned the killing of three kinds of hammerheads and tiger sharks in response to the decline in numbers of all four species.
But O'Donnell said the photo was taken years ago, before the ban was in place, and that she wasn't targeting any specific species.
"We were not going after any species in particular - u catch what u catch - and it wasn't endangered til 11 days ago," O'Donnell said.
O'Donnell, who owns a home on Miami's Star Island, also defended Quartiano after a Twitter user said he had a "terrible reputation for slaughtering sharks."
"He is one of the best in the business - he is one man," O'Donnell Tweeted. "Y don't u worry about commercial fishing where the slaughter by the thousands."
