A heart-stopping scene unfolded at Hermosa Beach on Wednesday morning when 20-year-old fisherman Kevin Phan plunged into pounding surf to free a thrashing great white shark that had been hooked near a pier. Beach-goers captured video of Phan racing down the shoreline at about 9 a.m., tumbling through crashing waves and wrestling the animal long enough to cut the line and guide it back into deeper water.
The footage shows Phan repeatedly struggling to gain purchase on the shark as it writhed in the surf. Onlookers could be heard questioning whether the animal was still alive, and several people cheered when Phan finally grabbed the shark’s tail and steered it away from shore. A witness, Stephen Copeland, told local station KTLA he ran toward a crowd gathered on the sand and found Phan in his underwear tending to the scene. Copeland quoted Phan as saying the rescue was the second shark he had retrieved that day.
Phan suffered only minor cuts and scrapes during the rescue and was otherwise unharmed, according to the same reports. After the incident, other fishermen on the pier said the recent uptick in shark sightings might keep them from casting in that spot as frequently. “Don’t know if I’m gonna be coming here as often because of that,” pier angler George Lam told KTLA, adding that he mostly fishes for smaller species that provide a quick bite.
The animal in the video was described as a juvenile great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). Researchers at California State University, Long Beach have previously found that juvenile great whites commonly appear close to shore when feeding on schooling baitfish and generally pose a low risk to swimmers and beachgoers. Nonetheless, scenes like Wednesday’s, in which a hooked shark is hauled into shallow water, can alarm local residents and anglers.
The episode highlights an ongoing tension between recreational fishing and coastal wildlife. Hooked sharks frequently struggle to free themselves, risking injury to both fishers and the animals. Wildlife and fisheries officials often advise using circle hooks, quick de-hooking techniques, and minimizing time out of the water to improve survival odds for released sharks, though the specific gear and procedures used in Wednesday’s incident were not detailed in the available reports.
Video of the rescue has circulated among local social media feeds, prompting a mix of praise for Phan’s quick action and concern from others about increased shark activity near popular fishing spots. Authorities or marine biologists were not quoted in the initial coverage, and it was not immediately clear whether the shark was examined afterward or if any agency responded to the scene. The incident may spur renewed attention to safe handling practices for fishermen who encounter large, protected species close to shore.