Children playing in the sea at the Cornish coast ran and screamed in terror after seeing a shark. The 10ft long basking shark, likely a juvenile, was easily visible in the clear waters at St Ives Harbour, Cornwall, last night. About 20 children fled the water upon spotting the shark’s dorsal fin from around 20ft away.
The sea creature swam near the harbour wall and beach where the children were playing at around 9pm. Andy Narbett, who operates Tiger Lilly Boat Trip St Ives, captured the moment on video and in pictures. He said, ‘I had finished my trips for the day and was walking around the harbour front when I saw the juvenile basking shark by the harbour wall.
‘It was incredible to see it so close, and very rare as we haven’t seen any basking sharks in the bay for years.
‘The kids in the water must have been only 20ft from it.
‘Not realising it was harmless, they screamed and got out of the shallow water immediately.
‘There were about 20 kids playing on the small beach and eight in the water on paddle boards.
‘I went on social media and joked afterwards that Jaws had entered the harbour!’
Basking sharks – Cetorhinus maximus in Latin – pose no danger to humans and feed only on plankton.
They were once fished for their meat, fins, and liver oil until becoming a protected species in 1998.
They are Britain’s largest fish, growing up to 40ft in length and weighing over 10,000lbs.
They are the second-largest fish in the world after the whale shark.
Basking sharks are one of only three shark species that feed on plankton and come into shallow waters in spring and summer to feed.