Shark spotted off Melbourne’s Albert Park beach in ‘odd’ occurrence

A terrified swimmer has described the moment they spotted a shark in the water at a popular Melbourne beach spot.

A terrified swimmer has described the moment they spotted a shark in the water at a popular Melbourne beach spot in what’s been labelled an “odd” event.

The member of the public had been on a morning swim at Albert Park, in Melbourne’s south, on Thursday when frantic calls from people offshore yelled at swimmers to get out of the water.

The swimmer suspected the shark was a bull shark measuring around 1.8m.

“I was at Kerferd Rd Pier in Albert Park and jumped off the pier. Some people yelled out ‘shark’ so we were swimming as fast as we could back to shore,” the person wrote on Dorsal Watch, an online shark alert system.

“When I saw the footage I couldn’t believe my eyes as it was about 6ft bull shark.”

A shark, believed to be a bull shark, was spotted off Melbourne's Albert Park pier.

Incredible vision shows the large shark casually circling near the pier as people nearby got out their phones to snap photos of the creature.

Bull sharks are found in coastal waters all around the world, preferring shallow coastal water according to scientists.

Bull sharks are often considered to be the most dangerous sharks to humans because of their aggressive tendencies and ability to migrate up rivers. They often come into contact with humans.

Despite humans not being a common part of the shark’s menu, attacks can happen due to the animal’s prevalence for shallow waters.

The shark is listed as near threatened as their coastal distribution makes them prone to pollution and habitat degradation.

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