THIS is the terrifying moment beachgoers caught a glimpse of a six-foot-long basking shark lurking near their kids.
The scary footage from August 5 shows a pair of small blue fins peek through the water at a New Jersey beach while a shark swims rapidly.
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A man can be heard exclaiming: “Look at this, it’s a shark here in Cape May”, while the threatening looking fish continues to splash around.
Shrieks can be heard in the background from horrified onlookers who usher their children to safety at around 3pm.
One astonished woman in a bikini refuses to move and can be seen looking intently at the mysterious creature as it moved from side to side.
The shocked man continues: “Look at that, it’s a shark man, right by the water! Let’s call everyone in.”
His announcement prompts petrified swimmers to head back to the sandy beach.
But some of the children are so gripped by the moving fish that failed to fully emerge that they stand nearby to catch a good look.
Cape May Point beach’s patrol said the fish was a basking shark that was in “knee-deep water”, and within just five yards of shore, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The beach was later cleared of swimmers for around an hour until the shark swam off into deeper water.
“I just saw a dolphin. Well, I thought it was a dolphin”, 12-year-old Riley Fernald told ABC NYC.
Maia Golub said: “We saw two fins pop up really close and we thought it was maybe two sharks, but when we got a closer look it was one long, six-foot shark.”
Ben Swan, chief of the Cape May Point beach patrol said: “It was in knee-deep water within five yards of the shore.
“Sharks are always out here. We swim with sharks every day. Most of the time you just don’t see them.”
He explained that this isn’t an unusual occurrence and beach staff are prepared for the sightings.
“The guards are trained to look out for whatever may be in the water. Any sort of threats in the area.
“If there are sharks, our response is just to clear the water for the meantime.”
A few miles off the coast of Cape May in southern Jersey, a local marine biologist said she knew of similar sightings.
She told ABC: “The past week we’ve had two different sightings of basking sharks, right off of Cape May.
“This is unusual because basking sharks tend to be pelagic species, so they spend more of their time in deeper water offshore.”
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2023 Global Shark Attacks
IN 2023, there were 79 shark bites globally.
Of that number, 69 were unprovoked and 10 were provoked fatal bites.
The United States had 36 unprovoked attacks which accounted for 52% of the incidents worldwide.
Two of the attacks, one in California and the other in Hawaii, were fatal.
Consistently Florida has had the most attacks in the country with 2023 being no different. The Sunshine State had 16 attacks last year.
Three of the 10 fatalities in 2023 happened in a remote surfing spot off the coast of southern Australia known as The Eyre Peninsula.
The area is home to seals, so they lure in great whites.
The other five fatal attacks were spread out across the globe with 1 in the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico, and New Caledonia.
According to Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File
