iStockphoto / Nautilus Creative
Fishermen out of Port Stephens, Australia were awestruck by a great white shark encounter that happened right next to their boat.
Great white shark encounters are rare but this one was particularly rare as the shark hung around the boat for while, presumably hoping to find an easy meal. Sharks have long had the nickname ‘tax man’ from fishermen due to their habit of showing up just in time to bite fish in half as they’re being reeled in.
Sharks are attracted through the vibrations of a struggling fish in the water and it’s unclear if that is what drew this great white in but one thing is for certain, this is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
@fk.the.taxman The Final Boss Taxman! How much $$ to jump in the water? 🦈 🎥IG:@portstephensfishing
On Instagram, PortStephensFishing wrote “The most incredible experience I’ve ever had on the ocean. To be both simultaneously petrified and in awe is a rare human experience and that’s the effect this wild apex predator had on me.”
He went on to add “She swam around us for nearly an hour whilst we continued to fish. I’ve always dreamt of stumbling across one but never imagined one this size. So graceful and peaceful in one sense but also the DNA of my nightmares.”
Great white sharks aren’t unheard of in Port Stephens, Australia which is just a two hour drive north of Sydney in New South Wales. But an encounter this close is quite rare with the shark sticking around for a while to investigate.
Across the globe, another rare great white encounter occurred recently. One was documented on an artificial reef in Alabama for the first time in 10 years. But that wasn’t nearly as cool as white sharks feasting on a whale carcass off St. Pete, Florida back in March.