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Great White Shark Rams Fishing Boat In Australia

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 15:24 PST, Nov 19, 2014

Fishermen in Western Australia captured astonishing footage this week as a five-meter-long great white shark tried to steal their catch, ramming into the side of their boat.

David Lock and his father were fishing for salmon near Carnac Island around 8:30 a.m. when they encountered the shark, according to Perth Now. The great white was benign at first, yet after Lock’s father hooked a fish, the massive predator began to show an interest in their seven-meter-long boat. After circling near the fish, the white shark accelerated towards it, ramming into the side of Lock’s boat.

“I was just filming as my dad hooked up a salmon and out of the blue comes a shark, we didn’t think he was interested at the time and ended up he was, he launched at the fish and launched at the boat,” Lock said.

The shark struck the side of the boat head-on, with its mouth open to attack the fish, according to the West Australian. Lock missed filming the moment that the shark impacted the vessel, as he stumbled backwards and dropped the camera.

“I have jumped back, he would have had me otherwise. He touched my leg, it was that close.”

The shark hit the boat so hard, Lock said, that both men fell over. The animal’s powerful jaws also bit into the boat, removing a chunk of the vessel during the attack.

“Got bite marks on my boat now. They’re pretty big, 50cm from one end to another,” he described.

The shark was only interested in the fish, Lock relates, and after the great white rammed the side of the boat, it swam slowly away from the area. Though he has been fishing the area for years, Lock asserts that he has never encountered a shark so close.

“You are definitely seeing more of them out there, not great white but other sharks, in the last three or four years.”

Last week, a group of fishermen encountered a great white shark off the coast of California. The trio were alerted to the predator’s presence when the shark bumped into their boat before circling it, as the Inquisitr noted.

“I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the shark but I want to bring awareness to what is out there,” Lock said.

Though he hesitated to reveal the exact spot where the encounter took place, Lock claimed that it was a popular diving spot and that divers were in the area when the shark rammed the side of his boat.

[Image: David Lock via the West Australian]

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