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Boaters fishing for striped bass near the beach at Robert Moses State Park encountered a giant basking shark lurking at the surface just feet from their vessel.
The sighting came as quite a surprise to the crew, following a long day of fishing in the ocean.
Posted on the Instagram and Facebook accounts of The Salty Clam, video footage taken from a drone shows the shark — possibly more than 25-feet long — peacefully swimming less than a half-mile from shore. The 37-second clip, recorded and posted two days ago, is set to the eerie and mellow sounds of Pink Floyd’s “Time.”
“I think we’re gunna need a bigger boat! After an insane day of fishing we found this big guy about a half a mile off #robertmosesbeach in 30ft of water just cruising,” reads the Instagram post at @the_saltyclam. “Never know what you’ll see out there.”
Check out the video below:
Clearly seen in the background of the video is the Robert Moses Causeway Bridge and the state park’s iconic water tower.
The basking shark is known for its massive size and distinctive appearance, but they do not possess the aggressive tendencies or hunting behaviors associated with other shark species and are generally harmless to humans. They primarily feed on plankton and small fish.
As the second-largest living fish, basking sharks reach lengths of up to 40 feet or more.
