A charter fishing expedition in Whitianga was surprised when a large mako shark jumped onto their boat and thrashed around, video shows.
Screenshot from Churchys Charters NZ Facebook video
A shark surprised a group of fishermen in New Zealand when it jumped onto their boat, a video shows.
Ryan Church, owner of Churchy’s Charter NZ, took the group fishing off the coast Whitianga on Saturday, November 5, the skipper told the New Zealand Herald. Something caught on the fishermen’s bait and they began to struggle with the creature.
Moments later, “we were pretty scared,” Church told the New Zealand Herald.
A Mako shark lunged at the front of their boat, the video shows. The shark landed with a loud thud and thrashed wildly, smashing into the window and scaring the fishermen on the other side of the glass.
Churchy’s Charter posted a video of the “crazy moment” on Facebook on Sunday, November 6.
The shark was about 8 feet long and weighed about 330 pounds, Church told the New Zealand Herald. As the shark tried to return to the water, the fishermen became increasingly concerned that they might need help freeing the shark, the captain said.
After a few minutes of beating, the shark managed to move back into the water, reports Stuff.
Mako sharks is considered an “aggressive predator” known for leaping out of the water to great heights while hunting, Oceana reports. The species is the fastest shark and one of the fastest fish. Mako sharks can reach 12 feet in length and 1,200 pounds in weight.
Whitianga is about 70 miles east of Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island.
