Video screen grab
Fishermen who submerge buckets of chum alongside their boats are inviting sharks and other predators, but that does not make the arrival of a particularly large shark any less exciting.
New Jersey anglers on Saturday lured an estimated 16-foot great white shark to their 35-foot boat, and watched in amazement as the shark surfaced and tore the chum bucket from its rope, then returned looking for more.
Though some headlines regarding this story are overly sensational–one tabloid wrote, “Great white shark attacks New Jersey fishing boat”–the fishermen did not seem frightened and were not in danger as long as they stayed aboard their vessel.
But the moments were at times tense, and thrilling.
“He ripped our chum bag right off!” one angler says. “He ripped our chum bag right off our boat.”
When the shark returned, materializing in the depths and then rising toward the boat, one of the crew reaches out to videotape the scene, causing the first genuine moments of trepidation.
“Watch out, he could come up,” another angler warns. “Look out! Get back! Get back! Get Back! You guys are nuts! Don’t get too close, it will come up.”
There was a mild shake of the head and, as the great predator began to sink out and dissappear, one of the crew echoed the sentiments of the rest with a word: “Unbelievable.”
The encounter occurred before dusk Saturday at a spot off Cape May called the 28-Mile Wreck. NBC Philadelphia reports that the anglers tag sharks for NOAA Fisheries as part of a cooperative effort called the Apex Predator Program.
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