It’s not “Shark Week” just yet, but the oceanic predators have been creeping closer to the shore and popping up in news headlines more and more in recent years. Earlier this month, a monstrous great white shark was recorded less than a mile off the coast of Sea Isle City in New Jersey.
Fisherman Jim Piazza, a Pennsylvania native who was fishing the waters with his son and a friend on their boat, came across the behemoth -- which was estimated to be 12 feet in length and upwards of 1,000 pounds in weight.
The mammoth fish lurked around the boat, giving the men aboard the surprise of a lifetime.
WATCH GREAT WHITE SHARK APPROACH FISHING BOAT IN NJ
“The videos don’t do it justice,” Piazza told NJ.com. “It was just nonchalantly there.”
The video was recorded on Saturday, Jun. 4 around noon. Piazza said he almost ran over the great white shark, but slowed his 23-foot boat while the group pulled up alongside the fish and began recording.
“I didn’t think I would see a great white right there,” Piazza said. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
The U.S. Coast Guard later boarded the boat for a safety check and posted the video to their Facebook page.
Earlier this month, a 10-foot mako shark was spotted thrashing along a Long Island beach -- and last week, a sand tiger shark was caught and released off Oakwood beach in Staten Island.
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