Great White Shark Gets Inches from Massachusetts Boy on Family Fishing Day in Dad's Video
A fishing trip in Cape Cod turned terrifying for a Massachusetts family when a great white shark leaped out of the water towards their boat and came within reach of the young son.
A video of the frightening moment was captured by the dad, Doug Nelson, and shared on Twitter by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.
The video shows one of the female passengers pulling in her catch of the day towards the boat. All onboard are quickly alarmed when a shark jumps out of the water right towards Doug’s son, Jack, who quickly ran backwards as others on the boat began shouting.
In the background, one passenger, likely Doug, can be heard saying “I got that on video” as the camera pans to the water, with the shark nowhere to be seen.
Additional footage shared by New England Cable News showed Jack’s reaction after the shark lunge. The boy told his dad, “Holy shizzle! Dad, that was at my fingers! I almost don’t have any arms.”
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Incredible footage today from Doug Nelson of Franklin, MA fishing aboard the Columbia out of Rock Harbor in Orleans. @MA_Sharks pic.twitter.com/rK3yk5j6SG
— Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (@A_WhiteShark) July 20, 2019
Following the close call, Jack, who was on the boat with his four best friends and family, told NECN, “I didn’t know what to do. It was shocking.”
The shark, as the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy confirmed, was a great white, one of the most dangerous shark species to humans.
Marc Costa, captain of the Orleans-based Columbia Sportfishing vessel, also confirmed that the shark was a great white, and stated the boat was about three miles west of Great Island in Wellfleet when the shark nearly leaped onto the boat, according to the Associated Press.
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According to NBC Boston, more than 100 sharks have been spotted off Cape Cod so far this summer, including 33 in the week leading up to July 18.
The beaches at the Cape have also been forced to close due to shark sightings near the shore on at least five occasions this summer, NBC Boston noted.
