Massive 15ft great white shark spotted just feet from tourist hotspot pier

A massive 15-foot great white shark was spotted on camera just feet away from a pier at a major tourist hotspot.

Carlos Gauna, 45, captured the footage on July 31 with his drone. He says it's unusual to see sharks so close to the shore and was pleased to capture the shark in its natural habitat without interference.

"I've never seen one that big in the Santa Monica area and into Malibu that close to shore," said Gauna, photographer and owner of Malibu Artists in Ventura County. "I was truly surprised because the Bay is known primarily as a juvenile nursery area. It comes after a Brit abroad slams all-inclusive hotel food asking 'what on earth is this?'

Read more: Shark attack horror as boy, 7, has leg shredded in idyllic bay

Read more: Horrified UK beachgoers spot shark 'beelining' for helpless paddleboarder

"There are parts of the bay that are well-known to have juvenile sharks. But this one was definitely an adult shark and it was pretty close to shore. It was pretty wild to see such a big shark close to so many people."

He added: "'Surprise' was the first emotion I had. It was pretty wild to see such a big shark close to so many people." Southern California's coast is often associated with juvenile great whites, but Gauna's encounter challenges that assumption.

He says his video is a reminder that despite the presence of these impressive predators, shark attacks remain exceedingly uncommon. "There are large sharks," he said, "but it's also a testament to how rare an attack is.

"The thing about a lot of the work that I do is I want to show sharks as they are in their natural habitat without any interference by a third party," he added. "I'm not in the water with them. I'm certainly not touching them.

"I'm not swimming alongside them and doing things like that which would not show them in their true nature. So that's why I'm able to photograph sharks doing some quite remarkable things when there are no humans around - or even when there are humans around.

"I've seen white sharks chasing stingrays near humans and it really just shows how indifferent they are to us, in most cases."

Great white sharks are typically found along the California coastline, particularly in the more southern areas of the state. Juvenile sharks head to the warmer waters where they prey on stingrays and smaller fish.