Bodyboarder mistakes a dolphin for a shark at Ballina in hilarious GoPro footage

VIDEO: A NSW bodyboarder has filmed the hilarious reaction he had when he mistook a dolphin for a shark after a fin suddenly popped up in front of him at one of Australia’s worst spots for shark attacks.

A bodyboarder has filmed the hilarious reaction he had when he mistook a dolphin for a shark after a fin suddenly popped up in front of him at Ballina.

Lismore’s Craig Bateman was out in the surf at Ballina — regarded as one Australia’s worst spots for shark attacks — when a large fin unexpectedly popped up in front of him.

Craig Bateman.

The ominous fin.

Shortly after paddling over a wave, the fin emerges from the water, causing Mr Bateman to shriek in shock.

”It was more the initial shock of something coming up so close to you,” Mr Bateman told the Manly Daily.

“Then it goes through your head that it’s a shark and how close it is to being all over, especially around that area (Ballina).”

Ballina is a known hotspot for shark attacks. Picture: Adam Head

After quickly coming to the realisation that the shark was actually a dolphin, Mr Bateman’s friend can be seen laughing at him in the footage, which he titled ‘My Life Flashed Before My Eyes’.

“It was quite funny,” he said.

“I yelped out and he started to laugh profusely.”

Once onshore, Mr Bateman said he copped more grief from family and friends.

“They bagged me out about my little girl scream,” he said.

Mr Bateman said the experience hasn’t deterred him from continuing to bodyboard at Ballina.

Originally published as Bodyboarder mistakes a dolphin for a shark at Ballina in hilarious GoPro footage