In a video posted online, a voice can be heard off-camera: “Right off the Sea Isle. Look at this monster!”
It was around noon on Saturday when Jim Piazza brought in his new boat after fishing a few hours off the coast of Sea Isle City, New Jersey.
“I almost ran it over. My son was pointing at it like, ‘Hey, there’s a shark.’ And I said, ‘No way!’ So I did a lap and yes, we went around it in about 10 minutes. It was like swimming north towards Ocean City,” Jim, who told Action News Monday morning for know.
The videos they filmed have garnered a lot of attention on social media after one of them was shared by Cape May Coast Guard Station over the weekend.
Jim’s son and his son’s friend were on the boat and threw the shark some fish.
The sighting occurred about a mile from the top of Townsend’s Inlet.
Joey, Jim’s cousin was also on the boat. Joey says he’s fished up and down the East Coast and this is the closest he’s had to a great white.
Joey said: “It was amazing … it went right overboard. We went around it twice.
Marine science professor Steve Nagiewicz from Stockton University said that based on viewing the videos, he believes it is indeed a great white shark.
He adds that the shark’s seemingly indestructible behavior is normal because the boat is not food.
“I have students who tell me they found a shark and it’s unique,” explains Nagiewicz. “They’re always there, but they stay away from people. That’s good. That means the environment.” healthy school”.
Nagiewicz estimated it was a juvenile shark, possibly about 8 feet long.
For stressed-out swimmers, sharks are almost always among us at the coast, he says, so you should always be mindful of your underwater surroundings.
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