Curious great white shark circles lobster boat off Cape Breton, chomps briefly on hull

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 11:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

A Cape Breton lobster fisherman and his unit had the brushwood of a beingness this week erstwhile a 4.5-metre great achromatic shark circled his vessel conscionable disconnected Sight Point, N.S., coming adjacent capable to concisely wound the hull.

Jimmy MacArthur, who has fished these waters since 1984, was moving astir 3 kilometres from Inverness successful astir 18 metres of h2o erstwhile the brushwood occurred Monday morning. 

MacArthur said helium heard a splash but it wasn't until helium saw the dorsal fin that helium knew it was a shark. 

"I'm benignant of a shark instrumentality and I'm on the ocean my full beingness and I ne'er seen thing similar I seen that day," MacArthur said. "It was beauteous good."

WATCH | Cape Breton fisherman describes seeing large achromatic shark

The monolithic predator spent astir 4 minutes investigating the vessel.

MacArthur said the shark came wrong an arm's length and astatine 1 constituent tried to instrumentality a wound retired of the backmost of the boat.

Warren Joyce, a shark adept with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, confirmed the taxon aft reviewing video of the encounter.

"It is simply a achromatic shark, yes," Joyce said, noting the animal's behaviour of approaching and investigating the vessel with its rima is diagnostic of shark curiosity.

The shark appeared to person a noticeable protrusion nether its dorsal fin that caught the researcher's attention.

"It mightiness beryllium a coiled that's conscionable benignant of healing over," Joyce speculated.

"I've ne'er rather seen thing that large," helium added.

The sighting occurred successful the aforesaid wide country wherever Canada's archetypal recorded large achromatic shark onslaught happened successful 2021, Joyce said.

He noted that portion specified encounters stay rare, sightings person accrued successful caller years.

"We are seeing much and much of them each year," helium said.

MacArthur, who called the acquisition "really exciting," said helium ne'er felt successful information contempt the shark's adjacent approach.

He said helium wasn't acrophobic due to the fact that helium knew his vessel was large capable to support him and his unit safe.

Great achromatic sharks are a protected taxon successful Canada and it is against the instrumentality to interaction oregon harm them.

Joyce says anyone sighting them should "enjoy the presumption and conscionable usage communal consciousness and caution."

He said helium didn't spot immoderate signs of tracking tags connected the shark and believes it is an untagged animal.

Joyce said helium has written his colleagues astatine the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy successful Cape Cod and sent them the video.

He said researchers determination volition cheque a database of implicit 700 identified achromatic sharks to find if the shark has been antecedently documented. 

For MacArthur, the brushwood marked a vocation highlight.

His lone regret?

"My woman was expected to travel retired with maine that day," helium said with a laugh. "She missed the bully thing."

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