Fishermen off the coast of Greece’s Corfu were met with an extraordinary and unexpected sight—a massive shark swimming just beneath the surface, circling near their inflatable boat.
The two individuals, out at sea for what was likely a routine trip, maintained remarkable composure as the enormous creature lingered nearby. Rather than panic, they calmly documented the surreal moment and later shared the footage on social media, where it quickly gained attention.
“Guys, a shark in front of us, under the boat—very big. This is the first time I’ve seen one this close,” one of the fishermen can be heard saying in the video, his voice a mix of awe and disbelief as he films the powerful predator gliding through the clear water.
A woman’s voice then breaks in, audibly shaken: “Oh my God… I’m shaking.”
“Don’t shake, it’s far away,” the other fisherman replies reassuringly, trying to keep the atmosphere under control despite the unusual visitor.
As the shark continued to swim around the boat, one of the fishermen decided to take action. He began making loud noises in an effort to scare the animal away, a tactic that eventually seemed to work as the shark veered off and disappeared into the deeper waters.
Though sightings of large sharks are rare in the Ionian Sea, they do occasionally occur, often stirring both fascination and fear. This encounter, however, ended without incident—just a heart-pounding story and a viral video to share.
Thirty-three species of shark and 20 species of stingrays have been recorded swimming in seas around Greece, environmental organization iSea reported last October.
Program manager of iSea, Roxani Naasan Aga-Spyridopoulou, said that the study of the sharks and stingrays “increased our knowledge of these species, which are so important as top predators.”
Spread of shark sightings in Greece over the decades
The organization created a map showing the location of the sightings around Greece through the years. As can be seen, sharks have been spotted everywhere.
“The Greek seas are known to host a variety of chondrichthyans, the presence of which has been documented since the time of Aristotle,” Aga-Spyridopoulou noted.
“However, it is only in the last two decades that systematic scientific research has been carried out. This is gradually closing the knowledge gap on the ecology and biology of these species but information on their spatial distribution is still scarce, with a limited number of studies providing such data and focusing mainly on biological and fishery-related parameters,” she added.
Attacks in Greece
When holidaying in Greece, few pause and think of the dangers that could be lurking below the idyllic waters, but an academic paper published in 2023 has revealed new insights about the frequency of shark attacks in Greece.
The paper, authored by Christos Taklis, provides a detailed statistical breakdown of shark attacks occurring in Greece over the past 180 years.
Thankfully, swimmers in Greece can rest assured that such incidents are mostly relegated to the Jaws movies and incidents are very rare. Nevertheless, an appropriate degree of caution and care should be taken when enjoying time spent in the water.
According to the study, the deadliest decade for recorded shark attacks in Greek waters was the 1950s. Over these ten years, there were a total of six incidents, five of which proved fatal.
The overall picture, though, is that shark attacks in Greece are rare. Over the 180 years examined in the paper, there were only 15 total recorded incidents.
Related: Scientists Record Sharks Making Sounds Intentionally for the First Time