15-foot great white shark stuns fishing crew after circling boat multiple times

A video from off the coast of Virginia Beach shows a huge great white shark coming from behind an offshore wind turbine and making repeated passes around a fishing boat.

What started as a normal day for the crew aboard the vessel quickly became a rare up-close wildlife encounter.

What happened?

WAVY reported that the ship, the Wreck Dawg, which operates out of Fisherman's Wharf Marina in Virginia Beach, was on a standard sea bass trip when the crew spotted the shark.

First mate Kenny Davis said they were fishing near the base of a wind turbine when the animal came into view. 

Davis told WAVY that he had encountered large sharks before while in the ocean, but this animal was much larger than normal. 

"When he came around this port side corner that we got the footage of, he turned the corner sharp," Davis said to WAVY. "And he was half the length of the boat. So I would say 15ft conservatively, 14 to 15ft, the biggest shark I've ever seen, that's for certain."

Why does it matter?

In this case, the shark appeared near a manmade offshore structure during an active fishing trip.

Offshore turbine bases can attract smaller sea life, while fishing activity can concentrate bait and other species, which may in turn draw top predators.

While some swimmers and anglers may be wary of sharks, the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center told WAVY that if sharks were regularly hunting humans, it would fundamentally disrupt ocean recreation and make activities like swimming and fishing far less feasible.

Sharks are important pieces of ocean ecosystems and rarely attack humans. 

While it's important to be aware of any sharks while navigating ocean waters, a sighting should not cause panic. 

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