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DANA POINT, Calif. — More than a dozen fishermen on an early morning expedition off San Clemente, California got the sight of a lifetime Wednesday morning.
There, before their eyes, was the 20 foot leviathan.
It was no mythical Moby Dick.
It was a Basking Shark, the second largest fish in the world, surpassed in size only by the the whale shark.
The boat, called "Sum Fun," and its fourteen seafarers came to life, even though it was before sunrise.
"Once it got closer you could feel," said Marty Hundley. "Then we saw the nose come up and we said, 'Wow, that's a big shark.'"
The Basking Shark is listed as a species of concern in the United States, meaning it's a step from endangered. In Canada, it has already reached that designation.