A sinister fin was spotted off the UK coast, sparking fears it could be a Great White.
The beast was patrolling off a seaside town just yards offshore.
Scared locals were divided on the type of shark it was.
Some said it was a basking shark, which is found in British waters, though not usually in November.
But others felt the pointed shape of the fin showed it was a man-eating Great White Shark infamous from the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws.
They have never officially been recorded in British waters, though there have been several unconfirmed sightings.
The fin was spotted by Dan Santillo off Porthcawl, near Swansea, south Wales, on Saturday (15 Nov), as reported by Need To Know.
He said, “It was moving but slowly.
“At first, I thought it was a sunfish.
“But I’m not sure what it was.
“A lot of people suggested it could be a basking shark.
“But some people thought it was a Great White too.
“It moved across the entire bay.
“And didn’t go under the water once.
“It’s there for about 30 minutes.
“It was very cool to see.”
Locals were divided about what it was.
One said, “Basking sharks and Great Whites have very similar-looking dorsal fins, and given the size of both of them, it can be hard to tell the difference from the surface.”
Another said, “That’s a basking shark.
“Was out surfing once, and one went under my board.
“There were sightings of a great white in an estuary in Cornwall at the time, so I completely wet myself.”
Another added: “Could be all sorts, a basking shark, mako shark, or porbeagle shark.”
While someone else said, “I don’t know what it is, but I’m not going near it.”
Basking sharks are not usually seen off Britain in November as their seasonal migration ends in the autumn.
The typical season for Basking Sharks in the UK runs from April to September, with peak sightings from June to September.
They are highly migratory and move offshore or further south for the winter months.
There has never been a confirmed sighting of a Great White Shark in UK waters, but there have been a handful of credible sightings since the 1960s.
Expert Richard Peirce, author of Sharks in British Seas, has investigated nearly 100 claims from people who thought they saw great whites in British waters.
He believes just 12 encounters are credible.
As some may be duplicates, where more than one person spotted the same individual, that number is reduced even further to around seven possible sightings.
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