Surprise encounter! Watch Aussie fisherman's epic battle with a thieving shark
- Replies 7
There’s nothing quite like fishing in the open sea. One minute you can be blissfully casting your lines, the next you can be fighting off a shark for your food. While it seems far-fetched, it does happen.
That was exactly the case for one Victorian fisherman whose remarkable encounter with a sneaky predator was caught on camera.
The waters around Victoria can be a fisherman's paradise, but it can also have some unexpected guests.
For Gil Pauline, his fiancée, and their pet dog, a recent morning fishing trip started promisingly. After launching their 3.7-metre tinny 10km out into Port Phillip Bay from Queenscliff, they were soon surrounded by a school of tuna.
Gil wanted to make the most out of the situation and jumped into the water. ‘I was surrounded by 30 to 40 tuna and I picked out a nice-sized eating one that was about 30 kg’, he told reporters.
He added: ‘I just shot it and then the fight was on.’
The couple usually capture their adventures out at sea and upload them to their YouTube channel.
‘On our way out into the open ocean. Not going to lie, I’m pretty scared,’ Gil’s fiancé tells the camera.
Gil enters the water and, from his diving camera, viewers can see a school of tuna right underneath his feet.
After tussling with his catch for an hour in the water, Gil swam back to the boat and hauled himself out of the water immediately. Gil then pulled the tuna using his fishing line, and that was when he saw the shark stalking his catch from behind.
In the video, his fiancé asked him what was going on, and Gil can be heard faintly saying that ‘a shark got him’.
He told reporters that he thought he was being stalked by a great white, so Gil jumped into the boat immediately.
‘I fully s*** myself because I was in the water by myself,’ he said.
‘I was pretty speechless, high on adrenaline.’
‘What kind of shark was that?’ His fiancé asked. Moments later, her question was answered.
A sevengill shark, identified by the fisherman himself, emerged from the depths and swam right beside the couple’s boat. It circled the pair several times, even testing if it could bite the boat a few times. The sevengill shark is said to be an opportunistic scavenger and predator that rarely attacks humans.
‘I knew there was a shark,’ Gil said in the video.
‘Yeah, it got a good chunk of the tuna,’ his fiancé added, while the dog was just watching the situation unfold from the boat.
Thankfully, the pair got out of the water and back to shore unharmed.
Gil told reporters: ‘The shark was pretty aggressively swimming around the boat and had taken a few bites out of the tuna.’
Gil admitted that he was ‘happy’ to share part of his catch with the shark. He was also thankful they had some dinner left.
‘We ate it for probably the next week, I think twice a day. We gave some pieces away to young families by the boat ramp,’ he shared before adding that he’s seen a lot of sharks before, so he wasn’t too bothered by seeing them in the water.
‘It’s their environment and I sort of respect them. This encounter has given me even more appreciation for them,’ he claimed.
The couple’s viewers were also amazed by the video they uploaded.
‘Insane video. Can’t believe you got amazing footage like that,’ one shared.
‘That was crazy! Really nice video, the suspense was real,’ another said.
While someone else said that the clip was scary, and that they were glad Gil only lost ‘a bit of the tuna’. Gil replied: ‘Yes, definitely happy about that.’
‘Ah, the good old sevengill-er. Harmless and blind, that’s why he came up to the boat,’ one claimed. Gil agreed and said that the animal probably wanted some more tuna.
You can watch the couple’s video below:
What are your thoughts on this story? Or do you have a fishing trip story of your own? Share them with us in the comments!
That was exactly the case for one Victorian fisherman whose remarkable encounter with a sneaky predator was caught on camera.
The waters around Victoria can be a fisherman's paradise, but it can also have some unexpected guests.
For Gil Pauline, his fiancée, and their pet dog, a recent morning fishing trip started promisingly. After launching their 3.7-metre tinny 10km out into Port Phillip Bay from Queenscliff, they were soon surrounded by a school of tuna.
Gil wanted to make the most out of the situation and jumped into the water. ‘I was surrounded by 30 to 40 tuna and I picked out a nice-sized eating one that was about 30 kg’, he told reporters.
He added: ‘I just shot it and then the fight was on.’
The pair, together with their dog, went fishing one morning. Credit: Life Adrift/YouTube
The couple usually capture their adventures out at sea and upload them to their YouTube channel.
‘On our way out into the open ocean. Not going to lie, I’m pretty scared,’ Gil’s fiancé tells the camera.
Gil enters the water and, from his diving camera, viewers can see a school of tuna right underneath his feet.
After tussling with his catch for an hour in the water, Gil swam back to the boat and hauled himself out of the water immediately. Gil then pulled the tuna using his fishing line, and that was when he saw the shark stalking his catch from behind.
In the video, his fiancé asked him what was going on, and Gil can be heard faintly saying that ‘a shark got him’.
A huge chunk was missing from the tuna. Credit: Life Adrift/YouTube
He told reporters that he thought he was being stalked by a great white, so Gil jumped into the boat immediately.
‘I fully s*** myself because I was in the water by myself,’ he said.
‘I was pretty speechless, high on adrenaline.’
‘What kind of shark was that?’ His fiancé asked. Moments later, her question was answered.
A sevengill shark, identified by the fisherman himself, emerged from the depths and swam right beside the couple’s boat. It circled the pair several times, even testing if it could bite the boat a few times. The sevengill shark is said to be an opportunistic scavenger and predator that rarely attacks humans.
The curious shark circled around the couple’s boat. Credit: Life Adrift/YouTube
‘I knew there was a shark,’ Gil said in the video.
‘Yeah, it got a good chunk of the tuna,’ his fiancé added, while the dog was just watching the situation unfold from the boat.
Thankfully, the pair got out of the water and back to shore unharmed.
Gil told reporters: ‘The shark was pretty aggressively swimming around the boat and had taken a few bites out of the tuna.’
Gil said he was ‘high on adrenaline’ after thinking that a great white was stalking him underwater. Credit: Life Adrift/YouTube
Gil admitted that he was ‘happy’ to share part of his catch with the shark. He was also thankful they had some dinner left.
‘We ate it for probably the next week, I think twice a day. We gave some pieces away to young families by the boat ramp,’ he shared before adding that he’s seen a lot of sharks before, so he wasn’t too bothered by seeing them in the water.
‘It’s their environment and I sort of respect them. This encounter has given me even more appreciation for them,’ he claimed.
The couple’s viewers were also amazed by the video they uploaded.
‘Insane video. Can’t believe you got amazing footage like that,’ one shared.
‘That was crazy! Really nice video, the suspense was real,’ another said.
While someone else said that the clip was scary, and that they were glad Gil only lost ‘a bit of the tuna’. Gil replied: ‘Yes, definitely happy about that.’
‘Ah, the good old sevengill-er. Harmless and blind, that’s why he came up to the boat,’ one claimed. Gil agreed and said that the animal probably wanted some more tuna.
You can watch the couple’s video below:
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And the dog standing on the edge of the boat like that!!!!!! Wouldn't take much effort for a shark to jump up out of the water and snatch the dog away.
