A fisherman gathering supplies for Cup Match received a surprise from Mother Nature yesterday when he met a whale shark four miles off the coast of St David’s.

After heading out at around 1pm, McLaren Lowe began throwing fry into the ocean to attract other fish, when he heard a splash from the other side of his boat.

“I thought it was my bilge pump kicking in. I looked over the side and saw a big dorsal fin,” he said.

“He was right there. I could have touched him.”

Mr Lowe, who owns the St David’s Seafood and Grill restaurant, said he experienced “a lot of emotions” upon seeing the whale shark. “I was intimidated and excited. It was surreal,” he said.

Mr Lowe filmed a minute-long clip of his experience, which shows the curious whale shark approaching the boat and remaining by its side, before sending it on to his family.

His brother Jason then posted it to Facebook, where the video has been attracting plenty of attention.

In total, Mr Lowe estimated that the whale shark stayed next to his boat for roughly five to seven minutes.

When asked if he took the sighting as a good omen for Cup Match, Mr Lowe said: “Of course! St George’s is taking the cup back home this year.”