Fishermen Encounter Great White Shark Off Jersey Shore

ATLANTIC CITY – A boat crew fishing for mako near the wreck of a steamer that sunk in 1860 encountered a great white shark on Sunday, according to a crew member.

Chris O'Neill of Little Egg Harbor told Patch that he and three other crew members caught and then released the 4- to 6-foot juvenile-age shark about 14 miles off Atlantic City at 3 p.m. The crew had been fishing since 4:30 a.m.

O'Neill said he, Joe O'Neill and Sam Messler, both of Manahawkin, and Robert McLaughlin from Barnegat released the shark as soon as they realized what they had. Fishermen are not permitted to land great white sharks and must release them if they are hooked.

"I said, 'That's a great white. You gotta cut it off," O'Neill said of his reaction to the catch.

O'Neill said the shark was hooked by accident with fishing gear before they let it go.

O'Neill sought to downplay his find, saying he and his crew weren't in danger and the fish wasn't anywhere near the size of the 25-foot shark popularized in "Jaws."

"It's not a monster," he said.

O'Neill said the crew had three lines out. At least one tugged and they reeled it in. "And there it was," he said.

Still, it was quite a surprise for the crew after they had been fishing for nearly 11 hours.

Here is another picture of the fish:

With reporting by Tom Davis

Photos courtesy of Chris O'Neill