Latest news with #sharkencounter
CBC
11 hours ago
- Science
- CBC
Curious great white shark circles lobster boat off Cape Breton, chomps briefly on hull
A Cape Breton lobster fisherman and his crew had the encounter of a lifetime this week when a 4.5-metre great white shark circled his boat just off Sight Point, N.S., coming close enough to briefly bite the hull. Jimmy MacArthur, who has fished these waters since 1984, was working about three kilometres from Inverness in approximately 18 metres of water when the encounter occurred Monday morning. MacArthur said he heard a splash but it wasn't until he saw the dorsal fin that he knew it was a shark. "I'm kind of a shark fan and I'm on the ocean my whole life and I never seen anything like I seen that day," MacArthur said. "It was pretty good." WATCH | Cape Breton fisherman describes seeing great white shark Cape Breton fisherman has close encounter with great white shark 7 minutes ago Duration 1:12 A lobster fisherman in Cape Breton recently had a close encounter with a great white shark. Jimmy MacArthur was off Sight Point, N.S., when he saw something he's never seen in his 40 years of fishing. The massive predator spent about four minutes investigating the vessel. MacArthur said the shark came within an arm's length and at one point tried to take a bite out of the back of the boat. Warren Joyce, a shark expert with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, confirmed the species after reviewing video of the encounter. "It is a white shark, yes," Joyce said, noting the animal's behaviour of approaching and testing the boat with its mouth is characteristic of shark curiosity. The shark appeared to have a noticeable protrusion under its dorsal fin that caught the researcher's attention. "It might be a wound that's just kind of healing over," Joyce speculated. "I've never quite seen something that large," he added. The sighting occurred in the same general area where Canada's first recorded great white shark attack happened in 2021, Joyce said. He noted that while such encounters remain rare, sightings have increased in recent years. "We are seeing more and more of them every year," he said. MacArthur, who called the experience "really exciting," said he never felt in danger despite the shark's close approach. He said he wasn't afraid because he knew his boat was big enough to keep him and his crew safe. Great white sharks are a protected species in Canada and it is against the law to touch or harm them. Joyce says anyone sighting them should "enjoy the view and just use common sense and caution." He said he didn't see any signs of tracking tags on the shark and believes it is an untagged animal. Joyce said he has written his colleagues at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy in Cape Cod and sent them the video. He said researchers there will check a database of over 700 identified white sharks to determine if the shark has been previously documented. For MacArthur, the encounter marked a career highlight. His only regret? "My wife was supposed to come out with me that day," he said with a laugh. "She missed the good thing."
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Chilling moment fisherman comes face to face with huge great white shark: 'I'm dealing with a beast'
A veteran spearfisher has described the moment he had a close encounter with a five metre great white shark while swimming off the NSW coast. Emanuel Bova was spearfishing in the water off Royal National Park, just south of Sydney, on Friday afternoon when the predator emerged from the depths heading directly at him. 'He came past me, I realised and just went ''whoa,'' it just blew me away. That's when my heart started racing and I realised I'm dealing with a beast,' he told Nine News. While Mr Bova is an experienced spearfisher who has seen many sharks close up, he said this encounter was a first. 'I'm swimming back to the jet ski and there's just this huge (great) white,' he said. 'I'm talking like four or five metres. Big, like wide, bigger than my jet ski. '(It was) scary.' Mr Bova was alone in the water and his jet ski was floating about 15metres away at the time. Footage from the encounter showed the fisherman backing away through the water onto his jet ski as the shark following close behind. Once out of the water, Mr Bova pulled in his fish float and kept a close watch on the great white, who he said circled the vessel which gave him the impression it looked like it 'missed out on his opportunity'. 'Maybe that's what he was thinking because he became a little agitated once I jumped on the ski.' 'He went from being motionless and steady to doing very fast, several laps around the ski.' It is believed the same great white was seen at Cronulla in Sydney's southeast about an hour earlier. Mr Bova said he and fellow spearfishers have noticed an increase in shark activity in the waters around Sydney. He said he has had four encounters with the beasts in the past three years. But he said Friday's incident seemed like an uncomfortably close call. Mr Bova previously told The Daily Telegraph he had been watching shark population changes closely after several incidents in 2022. 'You have to be wary these days whilst in the water, not just when spearfishing,' he said. 'One day it could be a swimmer, surfer, scuba diver, kayaker or a kid at the beach with their family, these sharks are capable of attacking in very shallow water,' he said.
