This is the shocking moment a man was seen pulling a shark out of the water along a Fire Island beach after a spate of attacks had recently rocked summer swimmers in the area.
In the clip, a man can be seen grappling with a big gray cock as the surf crashes down on him and viewers in Long Island, New York scream “holy shit”.
The animal’s tail snapped out of the man’s grip and the animal began to swim away, but he quickly scrambled after it and can be seen hand-feeding a fishing line.
A wave then slammed down on the fish, sending it back to the beach, and the man trotted off while maintaining his pull on the fishing line.
Incident witness Emily Murray told the New York Post the man was fishing when the shark hooked on his line.
“He had been fishing and accidentally caught the shark,” Murray said, “he was trying to unhook and free it.”
She said the shark was eventually unhooked and released back into the water.
The incident was filmed Sunday at Smith Point Beach, near where two shark attacks took place just last month.
In the clip, a man can be seen grappling with a big gray cock as the surf crashes on them and viewers hear yells of “holy shit”.
The incident was filmed Sunday at Smith Point Beach, near where two shark attacks took place just last month
Humans and monsters seem to be fighting back, then the shark jumps out of the roaring waves with its mouth open.
“Holy shit,” a shocked passerby shouted again.
The shark is then washed into the shallows, and as the water recedes, the man grabs its tail and drags it ashore.
The clip ended with the man holding onto the shark’s tail and calling for a woman – Mary – to grab his bolt cutters.
A photo taken shortly after shows the man who caught the shark and another still handling the huge fish in the surf.
The tail flicks out of the man’s grip and the animal begins to swim away, but he hurries after and can be seen hand-feeding a fishing line.
The shark is washed into the shallows, and as the water recedes, the man grabs its tail and drags it, struggling, to shore
The man chased the shark through the shallows while trying to grab its tail out of the water
On social media, many identified the shark as a sand shark, which is considered largely harmless.
Some questioned why the beachgoers were harassing the creature, with one user writing: “Leave the poor shark alone. The shark was in its natural habitat. We humans are MONSTERS!!!!’
Others defended the fisherman, correctly stating that he was actually trying to help the shark by releasing it from its fishing line.
“I suspect the bolt cutters in the first image are actually attempting to remove a fish hook, although the video would make it appear their intentions are malicious,” wrote one user.
A photo taken shortly after shows the man who caught the shark and another still handling the huge fish in the surf
Some defended the fisherman’s actions, saying he may have tried to help the shark by releasing it from its fishing line
The clip comes as Long Island has been hit by an unusually high number of shark attacks, with up to four attacks taking place in July alone.
Two of these took place at Smith Point, where Sunday’s clip was filmed.
On July 3, during a training exercise there, a lifeguard was attacked by a five-foot tiger shark. He had bite marks on his chest and hand before fending off the beast.
Then, on July 13, a 41-year-old surfer was bitten by a four-foot tiger shark, leaving a large bite mark in his leg.
Although shark attacks are rare on Long Island, there have been more attacks in the past two years than in the entire previous decade, according to the New York Post.