This might be the largest great white shark in the world

Most people are pretty damn scared of sharks right? Well, not these divers. They’re on a mission to educate the world on these ‘gentle’ creatures. 

New videos show divers getting within touching distance with what could be one of the biggest great white sharks on record. One of the divers in question, Ocean Ramsey, posted the picture on her Instagram account and said sharks must be ‘protected not feared’.

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#Jaws was a fictitious film whose poster kind of looks like this, so this is my effort at an Anti-Jaws type media piece @savingjawsmovie . I’ve been swimming with sharks my whole life and working professionally with them for over 15 years. There’s a challenge I have in my efforts, to find a balance between helping people to overcome their fear of sharks that often stems for fictitious demonizing media and instilling a healthy level of respect for sharks as very capable apex predators #ApexPredatorNotMonster not puppy (cause if you pet puppies often even puppies bite, actually a lot ;)). Having worked with sharks for so long I can fully appreciate what they are capable of because I have been rushed by sharks and had to deter them and I have had to leave the water and I have watched them actively predate and compete for space and have confrontations. However, I’ve also had the most incredible moments of my life in the water with them where 99.9% of the time they cruise gracefully around and so long as I keep looking around and pay attention constantly and quietly and give respect and attention to the more dominant individuals and challenging juveniles on a CONSTANT bases I am treated as more or less an equal predator. Never complacent, always respectful and adapting at every second to every movement. I reached the point long ago where I dedicated my life to conservation and I love it, I love educating people about sharks and introducing them to them in a professional guided situation through the program I co-founded @oneoceandiving where we also collect data @oneoceanresearch @oneoceansharks and help support conservation through @Oneoceanconservation and @OneoceanEducation and @Oneoceanglobal @Waterinspired @oneoceanhawaii and other with funds from @oneoceandesigns and diving I love studying shark behavior and body language and its an absolute pleasure to share that with people and help them to better appreciate sharks and I hope inspire them to help save them. Check out http://HelpSaveSharks.Org for more ways to get involved. #Aloha #hawaii #greatWhiteHawaii #SaveTheOcean #ocean #discoversharks #oneoceanconservation #OneOceanDiving PHOTO CREDIT @juansharks

A post shared by Ocean Ramsey #OceanRamsey (@oceanramsey) on Jan 18, 2019 at 2:14am PST

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Some people ask, do you ever think you’ll see her again? I reply, at the rate sharks are being killed (70,000,000-100,000,000 ever year) it’s unfortunately unlikely. #helpsavesharks Find our what your state or countries position is on shark protection & write to your politicians and encourage them to pass laws to protect sharks. If you have friends that fish or work in longline fisheries ask them to let the sharks go if they catch them. Educate a #sharkfisherman that #sharkfishing is cruel and wasteful. Be a mindful consumer and check your labels for things like squalene and don’t consume the pills or buy shark teeth unless you know they are a fossil. Shark jaws are not from sharks who passed naturally. Single-use plastic kills everything when it drifts in the ocean so eliminate, reduce, reuse, and recycle. Speak up for those without a voice and please spread this message. We need sharks and sharks need our help now. Dont let this beautiful shark be killed for #sharkfinsoup Thank you for all the wonderful, good positive people who are being so supportive of this & conservation #savesharks #whitesharkhawaii filmed by my amazing seaster @mermaid_kayleigh of @oneoceandiving @oneoceanresearch @oneoceanconservation @oneoceanglobal @waterinspired @oneoceandesigns @oneoceaneducation Words: @oceanramsey #hawaii #aloha #malamamanō

A post shared by Ocean Ramsey #OceanRamsey (@oceanramsey) on Jan 20, 2019 at 3:12am PST

Near Hawaii, they came so close to the female shark – quite aptly named Deep Blue – that they were able to touch it. The 20-foot shark, nearly 20ft (6m) long and weighing an estimated 2.5 tonnes, is believed to be one tagged by researchers about 20 years ago called Deep Blue.

Ocean Ramsey told the Star-Advertiser this giant is “probably the most gentle great whites I’ve ever seen. Big pregnant females are actually the safest ones to be with, the biggest oldest ones, because they’ve seen it all — including us.”

“I’ve been swimming with sharks my whole life and working professionally with them for over 15 years. There’s a challenge I have in my efforts, to find a balance between helping people to overcome their fear of sharks that often stems for fictitious demonising media and instilling a healthy level of respect for sharks as very capable apex predators,” she said on her Instagram account.

She also added that they “are not the mindless monsters they are portrayed as”.

However, to divers seeking such an experience Ramsay stresses that she and her dive team had a permit from the United States Department of Commerce that focuses on the conditions of the oceans, major waterways, and the atmosphere— National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to be there.

Despite widespread fears, shark attacks are exceedingly rare. According to statistics from the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), between 1958 and 2016 there were 2,785 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks around the world, of which 439 were fatal.