A great white shark spotted metres from a popular West Australian beach is believed to be one of the biggest ever seen in the country’s waters.
The animal, which appears to be between five to six metres long, was caught on drone footage by film maker Dave Riggs on Saturday at Esperance’s Fourth Beach.
With the area renowned as a shark hotspot following the mauling death of 17-year-old Laeticia Brouwer in April, the sighting has sparked concerns of another attack.
A great white shark around five to six metres at popular West Australian Fourth beach in Esperance, is believed to be one of the biggest ever seen in the country’s waters (It is pictured alongside an 8.5m long boat)
The documentary maker uploaded the footage of the shark on social media following the encounter, calling the beast a ‘big fish’.
Video shows the mammoth shark slowly circling alongside an 8.5 metre boat, leading many to suggest the great white could be as big as six metres in length.
However, despite the shark having come within metres of a shocked surfer, Mr Riggs saying it was extremely rare to spot such a huge predator close to shore, The Australian reports.
Many people regard the biggest great white as a specimen caught in 1945 measuring 6.4 metres in length, however there are reports of larger animals.
A great white caught in a net at Seven Star Lake in 1997 was estimated as being nearly seven metres long, as was a beast spotted off Marino Bay in South Australia last year.
While a six-metre tiger shark was killed in 2015 swimming near Lennox Head, on the northern New South Wales coast.
Many people regard the biggest great white as a specimen caught in 1945 measuring 6.4 metres in lengt, however there are reports of larger animals, including one spotted off Marino Bay in South Australia last year said to be seven metres long (Pictured is a great white off South Africa’s coast)
The area the six metre animal was spotted is renowned as a shark hotspot following the mauling death of 17-year-old Laeticia Brouwer (pictured) in April, with the sighting sparking concerns of another attack
A six-metre pregnant Great White was also filmed swimming near mexico’s Guadalupe Island in 2013 and was featured on the Discovery Channel show Jaws Strikes Back.
Scientists have claimed though that it is unusual to witness an shark bigger than five metres, with most sightings or interactions with sharks less than 3 metres.
It came just a day after the Mr Riggs filmed another four-metre shark stalking nearby West Beach.
‘I got a tip off that a shark was out at Westies so I grabbed my drone and put it up,’ Mr Riggs told PerthNow.
‘I reckon it had to be about four metres and it looked as though it had been fed.’
He said the sharks likely hailed from deep waters as they appeared dark in colour and could have been coming in to follow food.
An alert had been issued at the beginning of the month after a sperm whale carcass was reported at Two-mile beach, with sharks attracted to the area.