(Above: Viewer video shows great white shark swimming near boat off La Jolla coast)<\/p>\n
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5\/KUSI) \u2014 A group of fishermen encountered a great white shark off the coast of La Jolla over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Dustin Sergent, a fly fishing captain<\/a>, sent a video he recorded on his cell phone to FOX 5\/KUSI, showing how close the shark was to his boat in La Jolla Canyon. According to Sergent, the sighting happened Saturday, June 28.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t swim near these San Diego-area beaches, officials say. Here\u2019s why <\/a><\/p>\n Sergent said the great white, which was about 16 to 18 feet long, approached the boat carrying him and his crew while one of them had a blue shark hooked to a line.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did not hook or harass the white shark,\u201d Sergent said. \u201cTo top it off, we had a sea lion come in and bully the great white! Very cool thing to see.\u201d<\/p>\n As seen in the video, the great white passed by the side of the boat before a sea lion seemingly chased it away. No one was harmed during the rare encounter.<\/p>\n Sharks are common along the coast of California. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife,<\/a> white sharks are commonly seen near the surface of the ocean but are known to swim as deep at least 6,000 feet underwater.<\/p>\n Juvenile white sharks are usually seen in shallow waters near the Southern California shoreline during the summer months and during warm water periods, the department said.<\/p>\n Last year, a swimmer in Del Mar was bitten by a shark that was later confirmed to be a great white<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watch the rare encounter in the video player above.<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n