Great White Shark Caught Off NYC Beach
Fisherman said catching Jaws lookalike was 'the coolest.'
— -- A New York City fisherman made a shocking catch when he reeled in a great white shark off the coast of a popular Queens beach.
Steve Fernandez, 29, and some friends were about a mile off the coast of Rockaway Beach on Sunday when they spotted a baby "Jaws" -- a great white shark about three feet long. Sure enough, another great white, this one about 10 feet long, was swimming near the back of his boat.
"I've seen them off shore, never really this close," Fernandez told DNAinfo. "There's no magical fence that keeps them off the beach. They swim wherever they want to go."
At one point, the baby shark was "3 inches from my face," Fernandez said.
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"I love it -- I'll do that every single day," he said. "I've caught bigger sharks, but that was the coolest."
Fernandez let the shark go, per NOAA regulations.
Shark attacks are expected to rise this summer, experts say. A 22-year-old woman was recently attacked in Florida.