Moment 12ft shark seen lurking in waist-deep water off Welsh beach
8 July 2022, 11:50
This is the astonishing moment a 12ft shark was spotted lurking in waist-deep water off the Welsh coast.
Footage shows the large fish slowly drifting near to the popular resort of Tenby in Pembrokeshire.
The video was filmed by Alex Brace, a member of a local sailing club in Tenby, who was standing in the water docking a boat at the time.
Alex and a friend were heading back on Wednesday after an evening of sailing at about 8pm when the fin caught their eye.
Shark swims in shallow water near beach in Wales
He told Wales Online: “We had just come back in and we were in ankle-deep water when we spotted it.
“My friend was standing behind me and we could just see these fins in the water, and a couple of seconds later we realised it was a shark.
“It was near us for a good two or three minutes and then it started heading off towards Saundersfoot."
Alex who lives in Tenby and runs Alex Brace Bike Mechanic in Saundersfoot, added" "The distance between its fins must have been around five or six feet in length, so it must have been about 12 feet long in total.
"I’ve spoken to a few people and shown them the video and they said it was most likely a basking shark, given the way it was moving.”
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Basking sharks are the second largest species of sharks - after the massive whale shark.
They can grow up to 40ft in length and can weigh a staggering 5,200kg in adulthood - though most basking sharks are between 22ft and 29ft.
Despite their enormous size, basking sharks pose no threat to humans, as they are a slow-moving filter feeders whose diet is reliant on aquatic microorganisms called zooplankton
The sharks, which are regarded as a threatened species, are found in all the world's temperate oceans, including the coastal waters of the UK in summer.
More frequent sightings are reported around southwest England, Wales and the west coast of Scotland.
Their hotspots are the Isle of Skye and the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Hebrides, and the Isle of Man, Devon and Cornwall.
