Great white shark soars 15ft through the air

A mesmerising photograph of a great white shark 15ft in the air has set a record for the highest breach through the water ever recorded.

Shark expert Chris Fallows took the shot at Seal Island in South Africa and was released as part of the Discovery Channel’s ‘Air Jaws’ series.

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, that picture is worth a thousand breaches,” says Fallows. “I can’t believe how high it came out, it was just perfect… a photo you dream of.

“This has to be the ultimate Air Jaws breach.” 

The latest episode of Air Jaws saw the researchers tracking sharks and using different techniques to capture breaches through the surface of the water, according to the Daily Mail.

One used a drone, another tried to capture a breach at night, while Fallows used a purpose-built tow camera.

Fallows’ record-breaking shot came on the 20th anniversary of the Air Jaws series.

South African-born Fallows was, along with a colleague, the first to observe the breaching behaviour of great white sharks popularised by the Air Jaws show.

Since then he has amassed one of the largest databases of predatory events involving the species, cataloguing some 9,500 incidences.