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Two New Jersey fishermen were shocked when they saw a great white shark circling their boat in the waters off the Jersey Shore, but they knew the moment needed to caught on camera.
"Unspeakable. Like nothing I’ve ever seen before," Rob Pompilio told NBC Philadelphia's WCAU about spotting the great white shark about 30 miles southeast of Atlantic City on Sunday. “The teeth were huge."
“It came up, just grabbed the boat, saw it wasn’t edible, went back down,” added Mike Long, who grabbed his camera and recorded footage of the shark, which they estimate was about 16 feet long.
In the video, the shark can be seen swimming leisurely around the boat, popping its head out of the water at times. Officials say the shark was attracted to the area because of a high seal population.
This is not the only shark encounter to happen in New Jersey in recent days.
Last week, two anglers fishing near Manasquan got the surprise of a lifetime when a 303-pound, 8-foot mako shark backflipped into their boat. One of the men decided to "bait feed" the shark, but when it felt the hook, it jumped aboard.
The shark thrashed about and began eating the 31-foot vessel. The men drove a hook into its gills and tied it up. The shark later died.
Great white sharks might have a reputation for being fearsome predators, but they're actually just very curious, National Geographic notes. About one-third to one-half of shark attacks worldwide are attributed to great whites, but research indicates that great whites often exhibit "sample biting" and then release their victims; they don't necessarily prey on humans. Their food of choice includes sea lions, seals, small toothed whales, sea turtles and carrion.
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