'Great White' Shark Leaves Boat Owner Stunned

The owner of a boat was left "stunned" when a large shark got a little too close for comfort and even started biting the engine.

Steve Clark said the fish, believed to be a Great White, circled the 35ft vessel, swam alongside and went under before coming back several times.

The shark, which was filmed by one of the people on board, even made off with the chum food bag that is used to attract fish.

"Uh-oh, he's going to take our chum bag. He's going to take our chum bag!" a man can be heard saying in a video, which has gone viral on social media.

In the footage, some people were being warned to "get back" after the predator - thought to be around 16ft - was spotted off the coast of the South Jersey shore.

There were also passengers on board at the time.

Mr Clark told CBS News: "It was awesome. It wasn't scary, cause we're used to sharks.

"It swam down the length of the boat and I happened to see it first.

"Obviously, I was a little bit stunned. I didn't say anything to anybody, I was looking at it, trying to process the information, cause it was quite a big fish."

"The boat's 10ft wide. It (the shark) was sticking way out of both sides of the boat. The kids were on each side looking at the shark."

The vessel then left the scene when the predator started nibbling at the engine.

An expert said it was possible Great Whites were swimming that close to the coast but they normally remain far away enough that they were not a danger to swimmers on the beach.