The North Carolina coast may not be the first place you would expect to see a great white shark, but it does happen. Matt Garrett, a Boston, Massachusetts resident, and a group of friends went fishing over Thanksgiving weekend and caught the encounter on video.
The group was fishing about 25 miles from Wrightsville Beach in the southern part of the state. Garrett told CNN, "Off in a distance we saw two big fins sticking up in the water. We thought it was a couple Atlantic Sunfish or two dolphins. As the two fins approached a little closer, we noticed it was a giant shark."
Garrett said the shark nudged their boat with his nose before slapping it with his tail and swimming around the boat. He was able to record the encounter using his iPhone. WWAY reports that the shark swam around the boat for nearly 20 minutes.
A spokesman for the North Carolina Aquarium says Garrett and his friends acted appropriately. Paul Barrington said, "They did the right thing. They didn't harass it. They took some great video of it," reports WXII.
In this handout picture released by Awashima Marine Park, a 1.6 meter long Frill shark swims in a tank after being found by a fisherman at a bay in Numazu, on January 21, 2007 in Numazu, Japan. The frill shark, also known as a Frilled shark usually lives in waters of a depth of 600 meters and so it is very rare that this shark is found alive at sea-level. Its body shape and the number of gill are similar to fossils of sharks which lived 350,000,000 years ago. (Photo by Awashima Marine Park/Getty Images)
A shark swims in a tank at the New York Aquarium on August 7, 2001 in Coney Island, New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A June 11, 2009 file photo provided by Elasmodiver shows scientist Eric Hoffmayer of the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs, Miss., taking fin measurements of a whale shark in the Gulf of Mexico, about 55 miles off the Louisiana coast. Hoffmayer says whale sharks, the world's biggest fish, are particularly vulnerable if they get into the oil slick. That's because, rather than moving up to the surface and down again, they eat by swimming along the surface, sucking in plankton, fish eggs and small fish. (AP Photo/Elasmodiver, Andy Murch, File)
In this handout picture released by Awashima Marine Park, a 1.6 meter long Frill shark swims in a tank after being found by a fisherman at a bay in Numazu, on January 21, 2007 in Numazu, Japan. The frill shark, also known as a Frilled shark usually lives in waters of a depth of 600 meters and so it is very rare that this shark is found alive at sea-level. Its body shape and the number of gill are similar to fossils of sharks which lived 350,000,000 years ago. (Photo by Awashima Marine Park/Getty Images)
Home And Away actor Jon Sivewright launches the new Adventure experience Grey Nurse Shark Feed Dive at Manly's Ocean World on December 18, 2006 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Patrick Riviere/Getty Images)
This Saturday, June 26, 2010 photo released by Bruce Sweet shows a juvenile great white shark swimming in the Atlantic Ocean about 20 miles off the coast of Gloucester, Mass., in the rich fishing ground known as Stellwagen Bank. The shark was pulled up by Gloucester-based Sweet Dream III, tagged, and returned to the sea. (AP Photo/www.SportFishingMA.com, Bruce Sweet)
A shark swims in a tank at the New York Aquarium August 7, 2001 in Coney Island, New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A shark swim inside a fish tank as a diver, left, cleans the glass at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa, Wednesday, Aug 31, 2011. The Two Oceans Aquarium hosts group activities for school children and students which include the identification and observation of fish and other species. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
In this picture taken on September 3, 2011, an environmental activist releases a baby black-tip shark into the sea as part of an operation organised by the sharks protection group Dive Tribe off the coast of the southern Thai sea resort of Pattaya. On average an estimated 22,000 tonnes of sharks are caught annually off Thailand for their fins -- a delicacy in Chinese cuisine once enjoyed only by the rich, but now increasingly popular with the wealthier middle class. (CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images)
This undated photo released by The Galapagos National Park of Ecuador shows a diver alongside a whale shark in the Galapagos Island, Ecuador. (AP Photo/The Galapagos National Park of Ecuador)
This undated photo released by The Galapagos National Park of Ecuador shows a diver alongside a whale shark in the Galapagos Island, Ecuador. (AP Photo/The Galapagos National Park of Ecuador)
The North Carolina coast may not be the first place you would expect to see a great white shark, but it does happen. Matt Garrett, a Boston, Massachusetts resident, and a group of friends went fishing...
The North Carolina coast may not be the first place you would expect to see a great white shark, but it does happen. Matt Garrett, a Boston, Massachusetts resident, and a group of friends went fishing...
People, places and nature look amazing in these pictures from the National Geographic photography competition. A bonobo chimpanzee looks at a camera with the frankness...
SYDNEY -- Australian officials were hunting Tuesday for any sign of a 64-year-old man who authorities believe was attacked by a great white shark off...
And our impact on nature continues to pay dividends... it'll be just desserts if what large predators we HAVEN'T driven to extinction with our ignorance eventually rear up and start giving us major paybacks. Ha ha.
Edogg62: And our impact on nature continues to pay dividends... it'll
Even the fish are getting confused...the other mention of the shark that usually lives in 600 meter water...rare sightings...water temp changes...2012 man I'm tellin' ya...:-P
Dannydel50: Even the fish are getting confused...the other mention of the
"They did the right thing. They didn't harass it. They took some great video of it."
Who would want to harass a great white shark?! I for one will stay out of its way...
LivelyLexie: "They did the right thing. They didn't harass it. They
I'm pretty sure they're joking about shooting, hense the laughing afterwards. I think you're reading too much in to the comment. It's illegal to carry fire arms on to a boat in North Carolina. Also, if they really had wanted to shoot it they would have. They were 25 miles off the coast, no one would have been around to stop them. Use your brain.
WASY: I'm pretty sure they're joking about shooting, hense the laughing
SO glad they didn't catch it, drag it onboard, kill it -- drag it to land, and proudly photograph themselves with the creature.
Shark 1 - Humans -- thank you (this time)
CPaine48: SO glad they didn't catch it, drag it onboard, kill
Agreed- I wasn't even sure I wanted to click on this story because I assumed there would be some gory macabre picture of a dead shark. Glad there wasn't in this case and that the men just admired the shark and everyone went their own ways.
Chad_Wheeler: Agreed- I wasn't even sure I wanted to click on
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First Posted: 11/30/11 05:17 PM ET Updated: 01/20/12 10:23 AM ET