Incredible footage of a two-meter great white shark swimming in ankle-deep water next to fishermen terrifies photographer who captured it
- A juvenile great white shark almost beached itself when patrolling close to shore
- Photograher Toby Nicol filmed the white pointer from above with his drone
- He said the shark was likely attracted by fisherman who had their lines out
- A man also got incredibly close to the shark while following on his paddle board
A great white shark swam ‘scarily close to the shore’ just metres away from fishermen standing in the shallows.
The two-metre great white, which is believed to be a juvenile, patrolled the shore for two hours at a popular a beach in Port Stephens, just north of Newcastle, on the New South Wales coast on October 4.
A paddle boarder who thought it was a bronze whaler shark was also filmed getting incredibly close as he followed the white pointer.
Two fisherman (left and right) were in the shallows of the Port Stephens beach when a juvenile great white shark came incredibly close to shore, likely attracted by their bait
Photographer Toby Nicol said he ‘couldn’t quite believe his eyes’ when he filmed the shark from above with his drone.
‘He (the shark) was patrolling the shallows for about two hours and nearly beached at one point,’ he said.
‘My favorite part of this clip is how his dorsal fin is clean out of the water.’
In the clip, the shark came further up the shore with the tide and almost beached itself when the tide retreated.
A fisherman was standing ankle deep in the water with his line out when he spotted the shark’s fin poking out of the shallows.
He pointed at the shark and called to his fishing friends to show them.
In the clip, the shark came further up the shore with the tide and almost beached itself when the tide retreated
‘When the shark nearly beached, the fisherman spotted the (great) white in amazement. It was great to watch,’ Mr Nicol said.
‘It was actually the fisherman who attracted the shark. There was chum in the water and the shark was stalking their bait for two hours.
‘It was just the smell of fish bait that kept him circling before he eventually left.’
After the near-beaching, a man began following the marine predator from the safety of his paddle board.
‘A paddle boarder calmly follow it thinking it might be a young bronzie,’ Mr Nicol said.
After the near-beaching, a man began following the marine predator from the safety of his paddle board
‘I caught up with him down the beach and told him it was a white and he couldn’t believe it.’
Mr Nicol would not disclose the name of the beach for fear that it would lead to a backlash against sharks in the Port Stephens area.
‘A lot of the locals know its a sharky area, and you enter at your own risk, especially during shark season,’ he said.
This is the second great white shark Mr Nicol has been able to record on camera, but he still says it is an ‘exhilarating’ feeling.
‘I’ve been shark spotting for about a year now but the shape of a great white is unmistakable,’ he said.
This is the second great white shark Mr Nicol has been able to record on camera, but he still says it is an ‘exhilarating’ feeling