The fin was spotted off a seaside town just yards offshore

Matt Davies Trendswatch Reporter

10:58, 17 Nov 2025Updated 12:00, 17 Nov 2025

PORTHCAWL, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 25: A general view of a quiet Sandy Bay beach on May 25, 2020 in Porthcawl, United Kingdom. The British government has started easing the lockdown it imposed two months ago to curb the spread of Covid-19, abandoning its 'stay at home' slogan in favour of a message to 'be alert', but UK countries have varied in their approaches to relaxing quarantine measures. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)The creature was spotted just yards from shore near Porthcawl (stock)(Image: Getty Images)

A menacing fin was seen off the coast of a Welsh seaside town. The beast was spotted just yards from shore near Porthcawl, in south Wales

Residents were split over what type of shark had been sighted. Some believed it was a basking shark, which is found in UK waters, although not typically in November.

However, others felt the pointed shape of the fin indicated it was a man-eating great white shark made infamous by the Hollywood film Jaws. Whilst they have never officially been recorded in British waters, there have been several unconfirmed sightings.

The fin was spotted by Dan Santillo on Saturday (November 15), as reported by What’s The Jam.

He said: “It was moving but slowly. At first, I thought it was a sunfish. But I’m not sure what it was. A lot of people suggested it could be a basking shark.

“But some people thought it was a Great White too. It moved across the entire bay. And didn’t go under the water once. It’s there for about 30 minutes. It was very cool to see.”

Story from Jam Press (Great White Fin) Pictured: Video grab - Sinister shark fin seen near the UK coastline. VIDEO: Great fright! Sinister shark fin spotted off UK coast sparks fear it could be Jaws A sinister fin was spotted off the UK coast, sparking fears it could be a Great White. The beast was patrolling off a seaside town just yards offshore. Scared locals were divided on the type of shark it was. Some said it was a basking shark, which is found in British waters, though not usually in November. But others felt the pointed shape of the fin showed it was a man-eating Great White Shark infamous from the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws. They have never officially been recorded in British waters, though there have been several unconfirmed sightings. The fin was spotted by Dan Santillo off Porthcawl, near Swansea, south Wales, on Saturday (15 Nov), as reported by What's The Jam. He said, "It was moving but slowly. "At first, I thought it was a sunfish. "But I'm not sure what it was. "A lot of people suggested it could be a basking shark. "But some people thought it was a Great White too. "It moved across the entire bay. "And didn’t go under the water once. "It's there for about 30 minutes. "It was very cool to see." Locals were divided about what it was. One said, "Basking sharks and Great Whites have very similar-looking dorsal fins, and given the size of both of them, it can be hard to tell the difference from the surface." Another said, "That's a basking shark. "Was out surfing once, and one went under my board. "There were sightings of a great white in an estuary in Cornwall at the time, so I completely wet myself." Another added: "Could be all sorts, a basking shark, mako shark, or porbeagle shark." While someone else said, "I don't know what it is, but I'm not going near it." Basking sharks are not usually seen off Britain in November as their seasonal migration ends in the autumn. The typical season for Basking Sharks in the UK runs from April to September, with peak sightings from June to September. They are highly migratory and move offshore or further south for the winter months. There has never been a confirmed sighting of a Great White Shark in UK waters, but there have been a handful of credible sightings since the 1960s. Expert Richard Peirce, author of Sharks in British Seas, has investigated nearly 100 claims from people who thought they saw great whites in British waters. He believes just 12 encounters are credible. As some may be duplicates, where more than one person spotted the same individual, that number is reduced even further to around seven possible sightings. ENDS EDITOR'S NOTE: Video Usage Licence: (EXCLUSIVE) We have obtained an exclusive licence from the copyright holder. A copy of the licence is available on request. Video Restrictions: None.A menacing fin was seen off the coast of a Welsh seaside town
(Image: Jam Press/Dan Santillo)

Residents were divided about what it was. One said: “Basking sharks and Great Whites have very similar-looking dorsal fins, and given the size of both of them, it can be hard to tell the difference from the surface.”

Another said: “That’s a basking shark. Was out surfing once, and one went under my board. There were sightings of a great white in an estuary in Cornwall at the time, so I completely wet myself.”

Another observer speculated: “Could be all sorts, a basking shark, mako shark, or porbeagle shark.”

Whilst someone else remarked: “I don’t know what it is, but I’m not going near it.”

Story from Jam Press (Great White Fin) Pictured: Video grab - Sinister shark fin seen near the UK coastline. VIDEO: Great fright! Sinister shark fin spotted off UK coast sparks fear it could be Jaws A sinister fin was spotted off the UK coast, sparking fears it could be a Great White. The beast was patrolling off a seaside town just yards offshore. Scared locals were divided on the type of shark it was. Some said it was a basking shark, which is found in British waters, though not usually in November. But others felt the pointed shape of the fin showed it was a man-eating Great White Shark infamous from the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws. They have never officially been recorded in British waters, though there have been several unconfirmed sightings. The fin was spotted by Dan Santillo off Porthcawl, near Swansea, south Wales, on Saturday (15 Nov), as reported by What's The Jam. He said, "It was moving but slowly. "At first, I thought it was a sunfish. "But I'm not sure what it was. "A lot of people suggested it could be a basking shark. "But some people thought it was a Great White too. "It moved across the entire bay. "And didn’t go under the water once. "It's there for about 30 minutes. "It was very cool to see." Locals were divided about what it was. One said, "Basking sharks and Great Whites have very similar-looking dorsal fins, and given the size of both of them, it can be hard to tell the difference from the surface." Another said, "That's a basking shark. "Was out surfing once, and one went under my board. "There were sightings of a great white in an estuary in Cornwall at the time, so I completely wet myself." Another added: "Could be all sorts, a basking shark, mako shark, or porbeagle shark." While someone else said, "I don't know what it is, but I'm not going near it." Basking sharks are not usually seen off Britain in November as their seasonal migration ends in the autumn. The typical season for Basking Sharks in the UK runs from April to September, with peak sightings from June to September. They are highly migratory and move offshore or further south for the winter months. There has never been a confirmed sighting of a Great White Shark in UK waters, but there have been a handful of credible sightings since the 1960s. Expert Richard Peirce, author of Sharks in British Seas, has investigated nearly 100 claims from people who thought they saw great whites in British waters. He believes just 12 encounters are credible. As some may be duplicates, where more than one person spotted the same individual, that number is reduced even further to around seven possible sightings. ENDS EDITOR'S NOTE: Video Usage Licence: (EXCLUSIVE) We have obtained an exclusive licence from the copyright holder. A copy of the licence is available on request. Video Restrictions: None.Some believed it was a basking shark, which is found in UK waters
(Image: Jam Press/Dan Santillo)

Basking sharks, the largest largest shark found in UK seas, aren’t typically spotted off the British coast in November, as their seasonal migration concludes during autumn.

The usual period for basking shark sightings in UK waters extends from April through to September, with the majority observed between June and September.

These large sharks are highly migratory creatures and head offshore or move southwards during the winter period.

Meanwhile, whilst there has never been a verified sighting of a great white shark in British waters, there have also been a small number of credible reports since the 1960s.

Story from Jam Press (Great White Fin) Pictured: Video grab - Sinister shark fin seen near the UK coastline. VIDEO: Great fright! Sinister shark fin spotted off UK coast sparks fear it could be Jaws A sinister fin was spotted off the UK coast, sparking fears it could be a Great White. The beast was patrolling off a seaside town just yards offshore. Scared locals were divided on the type of shark it was. Some said it was a basking shark, which is found in British waters, though not usually in November. But others felt the pointed shape of the fin showed it was a man-eating Great White Shark infamous from the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws. They have never officially been recorded in British waters, though there have been several unconfirmed sightings. The fin was spotted by Dan Santillo off Porthcawl, near Swansea, south Wales, on Saturday (15 Nov), as reported by What's The Jam. He said, "It was moving but slowly. "At first, I thought it was a sunfish. "But I'm not sure what it was. "A lot of people suggested it could be a basking shark. "But some people thought it was a Great White too. "It moved across the entire bay. "And didn’t go under the water once. "It's there for about 30 minutes. "It was very cool to see." Locals were divided about what it was. One said, "Basking sharks and Great Whites have very similar-looking dorsal fins, and given the size of both of them, it can be hard to tell the difference from the surface." Another said, "That's a basking shark. "Was out surfing once, and one went under my board. "There were sightings of a great white in an estuary in Cornwall at the time, so I completely wet myself." Another added: "Could be all sorts, a basking shark, mako shark, or porbeagle shark." While someone else said, "I don't know what it is, but I'm not going near it." Basking sharks are not usually seen off Britain in November as their seasonal migration ends in the autumn. The typical season for Basking Sharks in the UK runs from April to September, with peak sightings from June to September. They are highly migratory and move offshore or further south for the winter months. There has never been a confirmed sighting of a Great White Shark in UK waters, but there have been a handful of credible sightings since the 1960s. Expert Richard Peirce, author of Sharks in British Seas, has investigated nearly 100 claims from people who thought they saw great whites in British waters. He believes just 12 encounters are credible. As some may be duplicates, where more than one person spotted the same individual, that number is reduced even further to around seven possible sightings. ENDS EDITOR'S NOTE: Video Usage Licence: (EXCLUSIVE) We have obtained an exclusive licence from the copyright holder. A copy of the licence is available on request. Video Restrictions: None.Residents were divided about what it was
(Image: Jam Press/Dan Santillo)

Richard Peirce, an expert and author of Sharks in British Seas, has examined nearly 100 claims from individuals who believed they encountered great whites in UK waters. He considers just 12 of these encounters to be credible.

Given that some may be duplicates—where multiple people spotted the same individual shark—that figure is reduced further to approximately seven possible sightings.