Huge shark rams boat off Freo
A fisherman has filmed the moment a hungry 5m great white shark almost ended up in his boat during a dramatic encounter off Fremantle.
David Lock was fishing for salmon with his father at a favourite spot at 9am yesterday when a shark began taking an interest in their 7m boat.
"He was pretty placid at first but when the old man hooked up to a fish, he got interested," he said.
"He has just launched and his head has landed on top of the side of the boat.
"I have jumped back, he would have had me otherwise. He touched my leg, it was that close.
"It was front on and mouth first.
"He has even taken a chunk out of the boat."
Mr Lock missed filming the moment the shark almost landed inside the boat when he dropped the phone he was filming it on as he stumbled backwards.
He said the shark was only interested in the fish and swam slowly away.
"I've been fishing for years and I've seen a lot sharks but never this close," Mr Lock said.
"You are definitely seeing more of them out there, not great white but other sharks, in the last three or four years."
Mr Lock did not want to reveal the location of the close encounter but said it was a popular diving spot and there were divers in the area while he was fishing.
"I wouldn't want anything to happen to the shark but I want to bring awareness to what is out there," he said.
"In my opinion, you should not be swimming in the water there."
