Aussie fishermen panic as MASSIVE shark 'circles' their boat: 'Go go go'
Amid a spate of shark sightings in South Australia, two fishermen have had a close brush with a huge predator in waters off Adelaide.
The pair were between Sellicks Beach and Myponga around midday on Monday when they spotted the massive shark, believed to be a great white, Nine News reported.
“Go, go go, woah,” one man can be yelling in a dramatic video clip.
As the camera pans over the blue ocean, the shark’s dark body can be seen slowly swimming around their boat. At times its fin breaks through the water, just 250 metres offshore.
“Just go! The f**k is circling us,” the fisherman shouts again.
But as the duo go to take off, they’re suddenly pulled right back before realising that their anchor is still down. Fortunately the men were able to free themselves and make a break for it.
Seven sharks sighted on Monday
The hair-raising encounter comes amid a recent surge in shark sightings in South Australia, with seven spotted on Sunday alone.
“On average these sharks have been about two and a half to three metres,” John Baker, President of Surf Life Saving Australia, told Nine News.
“[But] there have been reports of a larger shark down between Nomanville and Rapid Bay. Bronze whalers are the species we are seeing the most of.”
He added that shark patrols spotted on average between four and six sightings each day over Christmas.
More shark ‘incidents’ as waters get warmer
Experts warn that we could see more incidents with sharks as water temperatures continue to rise as a result of climate change.
"As water gets warmer, shark suitable habitat will expand southward and lead to shark migrations extending to new locations," Professor Charlie Huveneers, Research Leader of the Southern Shark Ecology Group at Flinders University told Yahoo News Australia.
“Through time, for example, you might end up getting more tiger sharks in Western Australia’s southwest corner. While tiger sharks can already occur as far south as the Great Australian Bite, they are likely to occur more frequently."
He does however add there are a growing number of measures to mitigate shark attacks.
“For example, drones used by Surf Life Saving Clubs can patrol beaches and alert people in the water when there is a shark in the area,” Professor Huveneeers said. “While SMART drumlines alert authorities when a shark is caught, enabling tagging and biological samples to be collected and leading the shark to leave the area it was caught in. Real time listening stations can then detect when a tagged shark is around and send automatic notifications to the public."
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