Shocking footage shows a man grabbing a shark by its tail with his bare hands at a Long Island beach on Sunday.
The tussle with the maneater took place at Smith Point Beach on Fire Island at approximately 9:00 a.m.
A female bystander can be heard yelling “holy shit” as the unidentified man attempts to get a grip of the shark’s tail near the shoreline.
According to eyewitness Emily Murray, the man was apparently fishing when the hook got stuck on the shark.
“He had been fishing and caught the shark by accident,” Murray told the New York Post. “He was attempting to unhook it and cut it free.”
The shark could be seen flailing around while the man worked to get the hook out.
Eventually, the shark appears to tire out, allowing the man more stability to remove the hook and release the creature back into the water.
The Post noted that the shark seemed to be a sand tiger shark, which poses little to no threat to humans unless they are bothered, according to National Geographic.
This shark sighting comes after multiple recorded shark attacks on Long Island beaches this year.
On July 20, a 16-year-old boy was bitten on the foot by a shark while surfing at Kismet Beach off Fire Island. He was not seriously injured.
There have been six recorded shark attacks since June 30, with all victims suffering non-life threatening injuries, Breitbart News noted. There have been no reported shark attacks in the area since the attack on the teen surfer.
Amid the wave of shark attacks, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) was prompted to direct state agencies to enhance patrolling for sharks on Long Island Beaches.
However, Murray told the Post that the beach was still open on Sunday and that people had become used to the shark sightings in the area, noting that it is of little matter to beachgoers.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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