Fishermen encounter great white shark off Cape May coast

CAPE MAY, N.J. (WABC) -- A South Jersey man off the coast of Cape May got way more than he bargained for - an encounter with a great white shark - and it was all caught on video.

Steve Clark says he was with some friends about 30 miles off the coast on Saturday.

They were trying to catch mako sharks when a 16-foot great white shark swam up to Clark's boat and snatched their bag of bait.

"She mouthed the engine. She convinced us to leave by grabbing onto the center engine. We did not want to lose a motor obviously that far off shore. But she was pretty calm, she grabbed the chum bucket, just ripped it off like nothing," said Clark.

The shark also clamped down on the middle engine but swam away without damaging the boat.

This sighting comes on the heels of a report that shows the great white shark population is surging up and down the East Coast.