Scuba Diver Faces Shark

Down at the shore, it was a real-life case of "Jaws" for a local scuba diver as he came face-to-face with a great white shark.

"I know a great white when I see one, and that's what it was," said Greg Jaeckel, a scuba diver.

Jaeckel said his 20 years of experience as a scuba diver could not prepare him for what he saw Friday.

"I was flabbergasted, and I was surprised. I could not believe it. I never saw it. All of a sudden it was just there," Jaeckel remembered.

Jaeckel had spotted a massive shark two hours east of Brigantine, N.J., and said it was more than twice as long as a sand tiger shark, approximately 18 to 20 feet.

"You could see it, clear as day. The water was clear. It was really beautiful, but terrifying at the same time," Jaeckel said.

Great white sharks are not unusual off the Jersey coast, according to shark experts. Local fishermen have reported seeing great white sharks a half-dozen times this year.

"They do exist off the coast of New Jersey as well as some other Northeastern states. The cold water does sometimes bring in the great white sharks. And this recent sighting, I do not find it unusual at all," said Greg Charbeneau, of the N.J. State Aquarium.

Jaeckel said he hoped his recent sighting was his last.

"To sharks, we are just like a hamburger, or whatever -- just another creature in the sea. I do not think that they are mean, they just don't think," Jaeckel said.

The last attack near New Jersey happened in the 1950s. The last deadly attack happened in 1916.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: Copyright 2003 by NBC 10. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.