Despite experiencing plenty of strange happenings on the North Wales coast, fishing enthusiast Jimmy Price, 59, was stunned to find a 10ft shark floating near the edge
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Huge shark swims into Holyhead harbour
A veteran sea angler fishing on a Welsh Island was stunned to find a huge 10ft shark loitering around by the coast.
Fishing enthusiast Jimmy Price had to do a double-take when a large dorsal fin suddendly appeared before him in Anglesey, Wales. The 59-year-old, who has experienced plenty of strange happenings on the North Wales coast, admitted that on this occasion, he was left "shocked".
Quick-thinking Jimmy whipped out his phone to capture video evidence, which saw the large mammal, measuring roughly 10ft-11ft, floating around in the water inside the nearby Holyhead Breakwater lighthouse. The shark was spotted swimming towards the port before turning at a buoy and slowly dissapearing back out to sea.
While Jimmy knew what he had just encountered, he can be heard on the video saying, "big fish that". The double-glazing fitter from Conwy was hoping to compete for fish, but wasn't expecting one that big. Making reference to the iconic Jaws movie, his colleagues responded "gonna need a bigger float" when Jimmy posted his clips on social media. Some users were in such disbelief that they labelled the video a hoax, while others pledged to steer clear of the Anglesey coast.
One woman said: "Waters are getting scary", while a Holyhead guesthouse owner added: "Christ, I was out swimming deep water in the inner harbour this morning." Users suspected it was either a bull shark or porbeagle shark - a close cousin of the Great White - before it was agreed that Jimmy had seen a basking shark, reports NorthWalesLive.
Basking sharks are the world's second-largest fish, after the whale shark – but they pose little risk and are considered to be harmless. Adults can grow to 28ft in length, some a little more, making many of them around the same size as a London bus. Locals took the presence of the one at Holyhead as a sign that waters were in good condition.
After watching Jimmy's clips, one swimmer said: "Wouldn't stop me sh***ing my budgie smugglers if that fin popped up in front of me. Lots of them around the Breakwater and the coast here. I did once cr*p myself swimming out from MacKenzie Pier and came across one quite close. No harm to humans, they're plankton eaters thank goodness!"
The size of the shark suggested it was only young, as confirmed by Anglesey Sea Zoo, Brynsiencyn, which described the sighting as "exciting", adding: "We do get reports of these close to shore but this is the first official sighting (of a basking shark) this season!"
Jimmy, from Abergele, is a regular angling competitor and headed to Holyhead for a fishing match. He said: "I was walking along the breakwater around 8am when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I'd not seen a basking shark before but I've caught other sharks so I knew what it was. I was pretty shocked – I didn't expect to see a shark cruising around the harbour at that time of the day!"
Despite there being a couple of anglers present on the harbour, Jimmy is sure he was the only witness. He said: "I dropped my rod and started chasing it down the breakwater with my mobile phone. I wanted proof. I see lots of curiosities when out fishing – like sea otters running across the beach at Llanddulas – and I like to share them online. People are interested and it can be educational."
Basking sharks can be spotted in any of Britain's coastal waters between May and September, with sightings most common in the late summer as the water warms. Southwest England, west Scotland and northwest Wales report the most sightings.
Waters between Anglesey and the Isle of Man is considered a hotspot. A 16ft basking shark was spotted off Holyhead by a lobster fisherman back in 2016. It was also likely a younger shark, as adults are known to steer clear of shallower coastal waters.
Footage of the mammal was posted on social media, which saw users in awe of the stunning marine wildlife off the North Wales coast. For Jimmy, seeing it was the highlight of his day. He said: "In the competition, I caught a few fish but not enough to be in the money."