Boaters encounter large great white shark off Jersey Shore

June 7 (UPI) -- A group of boaters captured video when they encountered an 8-foot great white shark that approached their boat off the New Jersey coast.

Jim Piazza said he was fishing off the coast of Sea Isle City, N.J, with his cousin, son and some friends when his son spotted something in the water.

"I almost ran it over. My son was like pointing to it like, 'Hey, there goes a shark.' And I'm like, 'No way!' So I made a loop around and yeah we circled it for about 10 minutes. It was just kind of swimming north towards Ocean City," Piazza told WPVI-TV.

The boaters captured video of the shark and threw it some fish to keep it in the area for a few minutes. One of the group's videos was shared by U.S. Coast Guard Station Cape May on Facebook.

Steve Nagiewicz, a professor of marine science at Stockton University, said the shark in the video appears to be an 8-foot great white. He said the shark encounter is the sign of a healthy ecosystem.

"I have students who tell me all the time that they found a shark and it's unique. They're always there, but they stay away from people. It's a good thing. It means the environment's healthy," Nagiewicz said.