A huge shark, thought to be a great white measuring up to 13ft, has been seen circling a boat off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, a famous surfing destination known for record-breaking waves.
The video was captured during an excursion between São Martinho do Porto and Nazaré, about two nautical miles from shore. It was posted on Instagram on July 25 by boat-tour company Ocean Adventures.
Shark Approaches Boat
In the caption, Ocean Adventures wrote: “This morning, between São Martinho do Porto and Nazaré, about 2MN from land, we spotted a large shark during a walk. The animal, 3/4m long, approached the boat and swam around us for a short moment. To mention that at no point did we feel threatened, and that the animal showed calm behaviour and even curiosity [SIC].”
The footage shows the shark's dorsal fin breaking the surface close to the vessel. Although the species has not been confirmed, Nuno Santos, who operates the boat tours, told Portuguese outlet SIC Notícias that the animal had a “white ventral area suggesting that it could be a great white shark”.
Rare Sighting
The extraordinary footage has been viewed more than 670,000 times on social media. Great white sharks are capable of travelling vast distances across oceans in search of suitable water temperatures and prey. They have occasionally been recorded in the Mediterranean and wider North Atlantic, but sightings close to mainland Portugal are considered rare.
Eventually, the shark moved away from the boat and disappeared into deeper water.
