AN oblivious paddleboarder was stalked by a 10ft Great White shark as a fisherman desperately tried to warn him.
Laurie Debono spotted the beast as it headed toward the boarder off Shoal Bay in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia.
"Watch out mate, there's a big great white just here," Laurie is heard screaming to the paddleboarder in the shallows.
The giant fish circled the fisherman's boat before flicking over in the direction of the boarder.
Urging the paddleboarder to head back to the beach, he shouted: "He's coming back around, I'd go back that way in a hurry".
"He's going straight to you mate," Laurie said before adding "he's coming back, it's all good."
The Aussie, who has been fishing in the area for nearly 45 years, marvelled at the size of the animal when it returned to the water around his boat.
"Jesus Christ, have a go at the size of that," he was heard saying.
Laurie captured some up-close footage of the shark, and seemed to be unfazed the creature's presence.
He told Daily Mail Australia that he "wasn't threatened" by the shark but wanted to alert the boarder.
"How beautiful are you? Wow." He said as it swam past.
"I could easily speak to the paddleboard rider and advised him that there was a decent size shark there,' he said.
"At first he thought I was kidding... then I advised him to swim back to shore... there were also bathers behind me as well.
"I then spoke to these guys and told them to stay out of the water as they were on the rock area up to their waist."
He said that he doesn't see a huge number of great whites in the area but this one was particularly inquisitive.
He said that it wasn't a "monster" but "by all means it wasn't a baby".
A clear environmentalist, he added that he "hates" shark culling methods, adding the sea is "their environment, not ours".
Thankfully for the boarder it was a close shave, as he headed back to the shore - but tragically, it's not always the case.
The number of shark attacks has exploded across the globe as swimmers continue to ignore bloodbath warning signs - seeing nearly 800 people mauled in just nine years.
Despite this incident happening in Australia - often famed for being the shark hotspot of the world - America has actually overtaken Down Under for the number of attacks with Cape Cod, Massachusetts, now considered the shark capital of the world.
Experts report seeing 50 in the popular holiday haven alone this summer.
However, despite a spike in maulings by the ferocious beasts and signs warning of attacks on beaches in the US and Australia, swimmers are still putting themselves at risk.
This year has seen 49 shark attacks - six being fatal - across the globe, as the underwater predators continue to get closer to humans.The US recorded the largest number of shark bites, reporting 33 incidents, while Australia recorded 18.
A whopping 791 shark attacks have been reported between 2010 and 2019, according to data published by the International Shark Attack File, with an annual global average of 80 bites.
It shows an incredible rise compared to data from 1970 to 1979, when just 157 attacks were reported.
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