Video: Fishermen get close up footage of great white shark

The group of fishermen were collecting bait when the curious shark approached their boat.

An Australian fisherman may have gotten a bit too close for comfort when one of the ocean’s most efficient predators approached his small boat.

The video, shot by Hamish Clarke and posted to his Facebook page, was taken when he and a group were collecting bait for a fishing competition, reportedly in New Zealand.

Clarke called the encounter “epic,” and the excited chatter from the other boaters in the video reflects the same sentiment with one saying, “It’s so curious, bro!” and another saying “This made my day.”

The boat crew are also clearly aware of the danger the animal would present if it believed they were potential prey, when one of the group exclaims, “Don’t lose your hand. Better watch out, bro.”

Great whites are feared for their ‘man-eating’ reputation, but although the sharks have logged more attacks on people than any other shark, humans are not the shark’s preferred prey.

Great white shark attacks are often believed to be the result of a shark mistaking a human for a seal. Sharks also investigate prey by taking an initial bite, or “mouthing.” This behaviour can cause serious injury given the shark’s bite force and multiple rows of serrated teeth designed to slice and rip flesh.

Humans pose a far greater threat to shark populations, however, with both the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listing the animals as vulnerable to population decline due to human-related factors.

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