Houston man records large hammerhead shark swimming in shallow water in Galveston County
Giant hammerhead shark seen swimming in shallow waters near Galveston causes concern at Texas beaches
A new video of a hammerhead shark swimming in the bay off San Luis Pass in Galveston County, TX is gaining millions of views on TikTok. According to Jason Schilling, he and his friends had been fishing last Monday morning near San Luis Pass. At some point, Jason says he heard some splashing near their spot just north of the San Luis Pass bridge. That's when Jason says he saw a large hammerhead shark swimming with its head above water.
GALVESTON COUNTY - A new video of a hammerhead shark swimming in the bay off San Luis Pass in Galveston County, TX is gaining millions of views on TikTok.
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According to Jason Schilling, he and his friends had been fishing last Monday morning near San Luis Pass. At some point, Jason says he heard some splashing near their spot just north of the San Luis Pass bridge. That's when Jason says he saw a large hammerhead shark swimming with its head above water.
"I hear this big splash behind me, it’s a big hammerhead shark sticking out of the water," said Schilling.
Schilling says he grabbed his phone and started recording. In his cellphone video, you can see the shark swimming and thrashing in only about knee-deep water. Schilling says the hammerhead was massive.
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"It was probably at least 10 feet," said Schilling. "They said it looked like around 11 foot. You don’t see that very often. Them coming up that close to the shore."
"The major function that a place like San Luis pass is [for sharks] is a means to move between Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico," said Dr. Phillip Matich, a marine biologist with Texas A&M Galveston.
Over the last 100 years or so, the International Shark Attack File reports 45 unprovoked shark attacks along the Texas coast. Of those 45, 19 were along Galveston County shores.
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"It’s a very infrequent encounter," said Dr. Matich. "But, at the same time, it’s important to respect wildlife just like you would with any other predator."
Since uploading the hammerhead clip to TikTok last week, more than 3.6 million people have watched Schilling’s video.
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"I thought it was crazy," said Schilling. "Just couldn’t believe [sharks] come up that shallow."