Great White Shark Sighted Near Orange Beach
Orcas and Beaked Whales and Great Whites, oh my! August 4, 2009 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) - This past year has seen more than its fair share of amazing fish and marine mammal stories coming out of Orange Beach. Last October 31st, Capt. Eddie Hall and anglers on the Shady Lady spotted about 200 Killer Whales 90 miles south of Orange Beach. On June 6th of this year, Lea Scruggs and his friends fishing on the Wahooter had a close encounter with a beaked whale about 35 miles south of Orange Beach. And now, Capt. Chip Day of Chipper's Clipper and his fishing team spotted a Great White Shark about 40 miles southeast of Perdido Pass.
While the picture doesn't do justice to the encounter,
the verbal descriptions from the experienced anglers
pretty much confirm it was a Great White sighting.
On July 25th, Capt Chip, Mate Curtis Bush and angler Joe Pruett got a late start on their Saturday trip due to a malfunctioning AC unit. The fix was in at 10am and the team headed south into the Gulf of Mexico for a 12-hour trip. They were bottom fishing in calm seas 40 miles south of Orange Beach just after 3pm when Capt. Chip saw a large dark shadow about 200 feet away swimming toward them. His first thought it was a mako shark, which are common in the Gulf.
As the shadow in the water approached, the anglers could see fish jumping out of the water ahead of it. Capt. Chip said, "You could see a cluster of fish scurrying away about 30 feet ahead of the shadow, it was spooky looking."
Anglers with Amberjack on their lines started reeling faster to try and save their catch from the approaching shark. While the shark followed the anglers catch to the boat, he never tried to bite them or get aggressive. "He was obviously not very hungry," said Capt. Chip.
When he got close enough for the anglers to see him, the shadow they expected to be blue, wasn't-- it was gray. When the shark got closer to the boat he rolled over exposing his white belly but, more importantly, Capt. Chip and Joe were able to observe the jagged line separating the gray from the white on the shark's body. It was then they realized they'd just had a close, rare encounter with a Great White Shark in the Gulf of Mexico.
Capt. Chip Day is the Captain of the Charterboat Chipper's Clipper. Chip has been fishing the waters of the Gulf of Mexico for over 30 years. In that time, Chip has seen numerous makos and bull sharks, but this is the first time he'd ever spotted a Great White.
Great White Sharks are a protected species and it is extremely rare to see one in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Great White Sharks are also known as white sharks, white pointers and white death. The scientific name is Carcharodon carcharias.
For more information on Great White Sharks visit: The Florida Museum of Natural History
The City of Orange Beach's Coastal Resources Dept. is hosting a "SHARKS!!!" presentation on August 11th at Live Bait at The Wharf. Guest speaker is Dr. John Dindo from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. The price is $12 and includes food, drink tip and the talk. For more information about this event call 251-981-1063.
Want to fish in the Shark Tournament this weekend? Call Capt. Chip Day at 251.981.1943 or 251.952.8247, or click here for more information about Chipper's Clipper.
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