A dusky shark. Photo: Seaworld via Wikicommons.

A large, rare species of shark was spotted about a mile off the coast of the Israeli town of Netanya on Monday, in what was described as an unusual sighting near the water’s surface.

A man who filmed the creature after spotting its fin called it “a huge shark, really big, at least three meters,” which is slightly less than 10 feet long.

According to the Hebrew news site Walla, the animal in question was identified by experts as a dusky shark. A relatively rare species, dusky sharks have been overfished due to their use in various food preparations, particularly shark fin soup, and are rarely spotted in Mediterranean waters. Israel lists it as a protected species.

Adi Sharash, a doctoral student at the University of Haifa and chairman of Israel’s Shark Association, told Walla that the shark is not dangerous, and the species is sometimes seen in this area due to the proximity of the town of Hadera. Hadera’s power plant warms the waters near the coast, sometimes attracting schools of several dozen sharks at certain times of the year.

Nonetheless, surface encounters are extremely rare, and Sharash speculated that the shark in question may be sick or injured, as this kind of behavior is abnormal.

The shark spotted is of average size for the species, as they generally reach around 10 feet and weigh up to 400 pounds.