For most it would bring back terrible memories of the scene from Jaws when the immortal line ‘you’re going to need a bigger boat’ was uttered.
But when a team of divers spotted the largest great white shark on the planet they only hesitated to grab their cameras before they jumped into the sea.
The enormous predator named Deep Blue is up to 50 years old, weights 2.5 tons and measures 20ft long.
It was drawn to the water around Hawaii for what one diver described as an ‘all you can eat buffet’ – to feed on a dead sperm whale.
Deep Blue was last spotted in Mexico in 2013 where it was fitted with a tracker which is how divers were able to identify it this time.
Conservation photographer Juan Oliphant was one of the divers who took the plunge along with with marine biologist Ocean Ramsey
Ocean Ramsey swimming with Deep Blue in photos shot by Juan Oliphant after it was spotted in the water off Oahu on Sunday by Kimberly Jeffries. Deep Blue became an icon several years ago during Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, through her remarkable size and age. She is 20 feet long and thought to be 50 years old. Pictures show the pair getting remarkably close to the deadly animal
It’s likely that Deep Blue grew so big simply because of her age. Before being spotted in Hawaii, the great white was caught on video in July 2018 near Guadalupe Island, off the west coast of Mexico. It was spotted feeding on the carcass of a whale
Divers could identify her as ‘Deep Blue’ thanks to a tag she was implanted with when she appeared off the coast of Mexico two decades ago.
