Great white shark spotted off Ocean City coast

OCEAN CITY, Md. — You have to say it -- Steven White is going to need a bigger boat.

White was on board the charter boat Fish Finder out of Ocean City, Maryland, when he got the surprise of a lifetime. A great white shark swam around the boat for about 10 to 15 minutes, he told WBAL.

White said the shark was massive, between 15 and 18 feet long and between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds.

The shark was lured in by the captain who tossed in some extra bait.

Shark experts say it’s not odd for the fish to be located off the Maryland coast. They do swim past the region every year, but it is rare to see one, WBAL reported.

OCEARCH said 740 sharks had been tracked off the Delmarva coast since 2012, the Salisbury Daily Times reported.

Last year, two great whites, both about 9 to 10 feet long and 400 to 500 pounds, were caught about a mile from the beach, according to the newspaper.

“We didn’t want to hook it. There was no reason to even try,” White told the Daily Times. “I wasn’t really nervous. I mean it’s like something you see on TV or Shark Week. I didn’t have time to be nervous.”

Cox Media Group