201901.18
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Researchers come face-to-face with huge great white shark

by in News

By CALEB JONES

HALIEWA, Hawaii — Two shark researchers who came face-to-face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded are using their encounter as an opportunity to push for legislation that would protect sharks in Hawaii.

Ocean Ramsey, a shark researcher and conservationist, told The Associated Press that she encountered the 20-foot shark Tuesday near a dead sperm whale off Oahu.

  • In this Jan. 15, 2019 photo provided by Juan Oliphant, Ocean Ramsey, a shark researcher and advocate, swims with a large great white shark off the shore of Oahu. Ramsey told The Associated Press on Thursday, Jan. 17 that images of her swimming next to a huge great white shark prove that these top predators should be protected, not feared. (Juan Oliphant via AP)

  • In this Jan. 15, 2019 photo provided by Juan Oliphant, Ocean Ramsey, a shark researcher and advocate, swims with a large great white shark off the shore of Oahu. Ramsey and Oliphant, two shark researchers, came face-to-face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded. They are using their encounter as an opportunity push for legislation that would protect sharks in Hawaii. (Juan Oliphant via AP)

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  • Ocean Ramsey, co-founder of One Ocean Diving and Research, reviews footage of her encounter with a great white shark, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Ramsey and her fiance, Juan Oliphant, two shark researchers, came face-to-face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded. Ramseytold The Associated Press that images of her swimming next to a huge great white shark prove that these top predators should be protected, not feared. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

  • Juan Oliphant, left, and Ocean Ramsey, co-founders of One Ocean Diving and Research, look at footage their encounter with a great white shark, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 in Haleiwa, Hawaii. The two shark researchers who came face-to-face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded, are using their encounter as an opportunity push for legislation that would protect sharks in Hawaii. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

  • In this Jan. 15, 2019 photo provided by Juan Oliphant, Ocean Ramsey, a shark researcher and advocate, swims with a large great white shark off the shore of Oahu. The two shark researchers came face-to-face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded. They are using their encounter as an opportunity push for legislation that would protect sharks in Hawaii. (Juan Oliphant via AP)

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The event was documented and shared by her fiancé and business partner Juan Oliphant on social media.

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said it was aware of photos of the great white and that tiger sharks also have been feeding on the whale.

Oliphant, who photographed the now-viral images, said it’s unclear if the shark is the famed Deep Blue, believed to be the largest great white ever recorded.

Ramsey said she has been pushing for a bill that would ban the killing of sharks and rays in Hawaii for several years, and hopes this year the measure will actually become law.