Brett Barley Trapped in ‘Hundreds of Sharks’ Feeding Frenzy off Cape Hatteras (Video)

Brett Barley is perhaps the best professional surfer to come out of North Carolina’s famed beachbreak, yet coastal erosion hotspot, of the Outer Banks.

And when he’s not surfing, scoring the regions renowned sand-bottomed tubes, he’s doing other outside activities. One of his favorites? Fishing.

But during a recent excursion, in which Barley motored out on his jet ski to hook some fish, he encountered something else. Sharks. Hundreds of them. Likely a shiver of spinner sharks, engaging in a wild and rabid feeding frenzy, with Barley caught in the middle.

Posting the footage to his Instagram, Barley captioned:

“A MASSIVE Shark Feeding Frenzy Engulfed my @seadoo while I was out fishing today! And on top of the hundreds of Sharks eating bait over a 4acre wide area, a big school of Red Drum blitzed in to join the party! Sharks & Drum coexisting to devour menhaden… a full-on Nat Geo moment if I’ve ever had one!

“The things you see in Cape Hatteras never cease to amaze me! Also, 10/10 would not recommend being in the middle of a ball of Spinner Sharks though…I’m very fortunate one didn’t sky right into me or all my gear.”

Even CNN picked up the crazy clip, with the narrator noting:

“Barley accidentally caught a shark, and the shark was able to cut through his fishing line and break free. Barley drove his watercraft back to the spot where he caught the shark to take more videos, but he realized he was surrounded. The sharks were feeding on bait fish. Barley believed they were spinner sharks. And he said, if you see dozens of sharks above the surface, there’s probably a lot more below. He says he stayed calm, and got out safely.”

Glad Barley is okay after this harrowing encounter.

This story was originally published by Surfer on Apr 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Surfer as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Brett Barley Trapped in ‘Hundreds of Sharks’ Feeding Frenzy off Cape Hatteras (Video)

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