Video: ‘That Is a Huge White Shark, Dude’ [Updated]

Image via facebook

UPDATE:

The captain of the F/V Cynthia C on Cape Cod, who captured footage of a Great White shark circling his boat, posted the full, six-minute video of the encounter after the original clip garnered significant attention on Facebook Tuesday.

In an update, Captain Tyler Macallister said of the experience on the water:

I am still in awe 24 hours after witnessing such a spectacle. Unfortunately the video does not do justice to the size and magnificence of this animal. You can really observe the calmness and presence as she investigated me and the boat. The shark stayed with us for 10 minutes, at which time she seemed to lose interest and then sink slowly away.

Below is the full video, and an interview with Macallister.

EARLIER:

“Look at the size of that fish.”

That’s the only thing Captain Tyler Macallister could think to say when his boat, the F/V Cynthia C, came across a massive Great White shark off the coast of Cape Cod on Monday morning.

Macallister, who takes trip out on the ocean to fish for tuna on the vessel, described the shark as roughly 16 to 18 feet in length. After spotting the shark from a distance, crew members of the F/V Cynthia C approached it, and took video as it circled around the ship.

“The fish hung around the boat, it kept coming in a big circle around the boat, and ended up sitting under the pulpit where I was and checking me out as much as I was checking her out,” Macallister told Boston.

In a nearly two-minute video of the encounter that Macallister posted to the ship’s Facebook page, you can hear the captain react to the discovery. “That’s is a huge White Shark, dude,” Macallister said, as he hovered above the female shark.

After taking the video, and then posting it on Facebook Tuesday morning, it was shared more than 500 times, and Macallister’s phone was ringing off the hook.

“His phone has been blowing up all day,” said Jeffrey Richardson, the first mate on the F/V Cynthia C. “It’s not our first encounter, but it’s a pretty rare encounter.”

Macallister said after capturing the footage in Cape Cod Bay, he contacted a close friend, John Chisholm, a marine fisheries biologist that works for the state. “I spoke with him, and let him know that we would be posting the video on Facebook. He confirmed it was a Great White shark when I showed him the video,” said Macallister.

The boat’s captain said he’s not surprised by all the attention the video is getting. “People have a genuine interest in White Sharks. They are a great animal, a very majestic animal in my opinion,” he said. “I’m always very much intrigued by White Sharks.”

While a nearly 18-foot shark is certainly a large creature, it’s not the first time Macallister has come across a Great White—or a fish that size. “This is the biggest White Shark I have ever seen. But I’ve seen some very large Mako sharks,” said Macallister, who has been a captain of his own boat since 2002, and captain of other boats since the mid-nineties. “But this one—without a doubt—was the most impressive animal I’ve seen while on the ocean, and I have seen many different animals.”

Macallister said he has better footage of the encounter, which he plans on sharing with people once they upload it later today.

The shark’s discovery comes just a few days after a report revealed that more Great Whites are congregating in the oceans off the East Coast.

Last summer, members of OCEARCH, an organization that strives to educate the public about the importance of the Great White shark’s role in the oceans, spent days in the Cape waters trying to track and tag sharks with the help of state officials.