Here’s One of the Biggest Great White Sharks Ever Recorded

Renowned marine biologist and conservationist Ocean Ramsey together with her team from One Ocean Diving, recently encountered a rare great white shark off the coast of Oahu. The team was able to swim with the enormous sea creature.

Ramsey works with great white sharks all over the world but this particular encounter has been an exciting one because a 20-fee-long shark is very rare in Hawaii. The huge female shark brushed against their boat repeatedly to make known her presence but contrary to common belief, the shark wasn’t causing any harm.

“There is a theory that large females come here when they are possibly pregnant trailing whales,” Ramsey said according to My Modern Met. “There was a dead sperm whale in the area and we did observe her from a distance swimming over to it and eating it on a regular basis throughout the day.  Sharks [play a] role in the ecosystem, to pick off the dead, dying, weak, wounded, sick, injured, etc. thereby keeping lower trophic levels healthy and in balance.”

The photos taken by the team are their way of telling the public how important sharks are in the natural environment. They also wanted to raise awareness that these sharks are in danger due to a lack of strict laws about their slaughter.

“I have so much respect for sharks for their ecological role, scientifically, culturally in Hawaii as aumakua, and from a conservation standpoint I’ve dedicated my life to speaking up for them and educating others about them and their plight while studying to continue to understand more about them,” Ramsey said. “We hope these images and videos will spark a movement for more laws to protect sharks here in Hawaii and around the world.”