Great white shark caught on camera off coast of Cape Breton

A great white shark was recently caught on camera by the Gulf Nova Scotia Fleet Planning Board off the shore of Inverness.

Cameras that are set up to track the ghost gear in the waters off Cape Breton's west coast found something aside from lobster traps and fishing debris scattered under the sea.

“My initial reaction was surprise, because I never would have thought I would've seen something like that. It's not something you see every day and it's something we've never seen before,” said Melina Collins, a summer student with the Gulf Nova Scotia Fleet Planning Board.

Collins was working the remotely operated vehicle when the shark came swimming by.

It was recorded about a mile off Inverness and 22.5 metres down in the Atlantic.

“I think a lot of people are interested by it. There are some that are kind of frightened, some are surprised, and some are just really interested in the species itself,” Collins said of the shark sighting.

It isn't rare for a great white to be in our waters — in the summer of 2021 just off Margaree Island, a 21-year-old woman was allegedly attacked by a shark while jumping off a boat.

It appears shark sightings are becoming more common as the seal colony in the area has been growing in recent years.

“There's nothing really to be afraid of if you're swimming off the beach, I don't think, as long as you're not out near their food source, which is off an island or anywhere where there's seals, than you should be fine,” said Damian MacInnis, executive director of Gulf Nova Scotia Fleet Planning Board.

One thing that is rare is capturing the great white on camera. The board posted the footage to social media.

“Online, I think we had over 1,600 shares and 120,000 views on it to date and it’s increasing every day,” said MacInnis.

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