{"id":142640,"date":"2025-05-29T23:30:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T23:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/142640\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T23:30:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T23:30:12","slug":"terror-in-rhode-island-as-enormous-twenty-foot-shark-is-spotted-swimming-in-pond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/142640\/","title":{"rendered":"Terror in Rhode Island as enormous TWENTY FOOT shark is spotted swimming in pond"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JOE HUTCHISON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 16:52 EDT, 29 May 2025 | Updated: 16:56 EDT, 29 May 2025 <\/p>\n

A 20-foot basking shark was spotted swimming near Rhode Island<\/a>‘s Block Island on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Footage of the large animal first surfaced on Memorial Day, after Jennifer Seebeck spotted a large dorsal fin rising out of the waters in the Great Salt Pond, on an island off the south coast of the state.<\/p>\n

Seebeck had been dining at nearby restaurant Dead Eye Dick’s when she managed to capture the shark near the surface of the water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the clip, the shark can be seen going through the waters and past a seemingly vacant small boat.<\/p>\n

Other diners in the background can be heard passing comment on the animals appearance and laughing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Atlantic Shark Institute shared the clip to their social media pages, causing it to go viral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In it, the organization said: ‘We got a number of calls yesterday as people on Block Island, RI were treated to quite the scene, kicking off the 2025 summer season!\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Clearly a very large shark and reminiscent of a scene from Jaws on this 50th anniversary of the film.’<\/p>\n

\"Footage <\/p>\n

Footage of the large animal first surfaced on Memorial Day, after Jennifer Seebeck spotted a large dorsal fin rising out of the waters in the state’s Great Salt Pond<\/p>\n

They added: ‘Sharks are arriving in Rhode Island daily as water temperatures continue to rise and more and more species of shark find them suitable to their liking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Hopefully this shark will find its way out of Great Salt Pond soon and continue on its way!’<\/p>\n

The institutes director Jon Dodd later revealed that the animal was a basking shark that was around 20 feet long.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He told WBZ-TV: ‘They are harmless filter-feeders but that wouldn’t matter much if you were in the water when one came cruising by!’\u00a0<\/p>\n

The New England Aquarium say that basking sharks are the second-largest fish species after the whale shark and eat plankton.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dodd also told Fox<\/a>\u00a0that basking sharks prefer cooler waters and are regularly spotted around Rhode Island during the summer months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said: ‘This is a shark that we will see fairly consistently.\u00a0They’re considered vulnerable according to the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).<\/p>\n

‘In many parts of the world they’re considered endangered’, Dodd added.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The large animal was spotted in\u00a0Great Salt Pond, an aerial view of the pond is seen here<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The New England Aquarium say that basking sharks are the second-largest fish species after the whale shark and eat plankton<\/p>\n

He also believes that the shark probably likely ended up in the pond after making a mistake on his travels.<\/p>\n

‘This guy just made a mistake.\u00a0He must’ve been cruising up the west side of Block Island and said, “Hey, let me explore what’s going on in this pond”, and found himself in the wrong place.’<\/p>\n

The shark is since have believed to have left the pond around a day after being spotted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dodd added that the sighting was a good sign for marine conservationists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2018 a group of fishermen filmed themselves releasing a huge great white shark that they managed to catch less than a mile away <\/a>from a Rhode Island Beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First mate Michael Lorello said the predator measured six feet long and was caught not far away from the popular pleasure beach of Misquamicut.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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