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Great white shark leaps into tiny boat, fisherman treats it like NBD

Just when you thought it was safe to go fishing.
 By 
Keith Wagstaff
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Welp, I'm never fishing again.

Terry Selwood was hoping to catch some snapper off the coast of Evans Head in Australia when a great white shark leapt out of the sea and into his boat.

"I caught a blur of something coming over the boat … and the pectoral fin of the shark hit me on the forearm and knocked me down on the ground to my hands and knees," the 73-year-old told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The shark measured 9 feet long—a pretty scary sight, considering Selwood's boat was only 15 feet long.

After the shark jumped aboard, the fisherman called the local marine rescue unit, who picked him up. They later went back for the boat, where they found the deceased shark.

Selwood treated the whole thing like it was no big deal, even though he got scratched up by the shark's rough skin.

"It won't deter me from fishing, no way in the world," he told the ABC.

"But really, it's not a great story, it's just a mundane thing that just happened and it's over and done with, but something that I'll remember. But we're all well and now I'll just get on with life and repair the damage he made to my boat."

While it's great the fisherman is OK, it's bad news for the great white shark. The species is considered "vulnerable" by the World Wildlife Fund, with decreasing numbers due to being caught by sports fishermen and nets meant for other fish.

Topics Animals

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Keith Wagstaff

Keith Wagstaff is an assistant editor at Mashable and a terrible Settlers of Catan player. He has written for TIME, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, NBC News, The Village Voice, VICE, GQ and New York Magazine, among many other reputable and not-so-reputable publications. After nearly a decade in New York City, he now lives in his native Los Angeles.

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