A 20-year-old angler at Hermosa Beach stripped to his boxers, grabbed a pair of scissors, and waded into four-foot surf to free a juvenile great white shark he had accidentally hooked, and the whole thing was caught on video that went viral within days.
Kevin Phan was fishing from the Hermosa Beach pier at about 9 a.m. local time Wednesday when he realized, after a long fight with a heavy catch, that a great white was on the other end of his line. Waves washed the young shark onto the beach, and Phan, knowing the species is protected under California's fishing restrictions, rushed down to do what he could.
What followed was a scene that drew cheers from beachgoers and reminded the rest of the country that not every story out of Southern California has to involve dysfunction. Sometimes a young man just does the right thing, fast, without waiting for permission.
Phan told the Los Angeles Times that he had been fishing for five years but had never tangled with a great white before. Once the shark washed ashore, he didn't hesitate. He shed his clothes down to his underwear, grabbed scissors, and entered the water to try to cut the line free.
Local resident Alexandra Garry witnessed the moment and captured footage of the encounter. She described the scene to the Los Angeles Times:
"The next thing I knew, one of the fishermen was half naked, stripped down to his underwear, and was in the water trying to get the hook out."
After cutting the line, Phan pulled the shark by its tail up the sand, turned it around, and began dragging it back toward the surf. A lifeguard truck arrived on the beach, and Phan called for help. Together, Phan and the lifeguard pushed the juvenile great white into the waves.
The shark swam away. Phan raised his arms as onlookers cheered.
Phan acknowledged the moment was not without a jolt of fear:
"It was a little bit scary, because I have never dealt with a white shark before and the teeth were a bit intimidating."
KTLA reported that Phan suffered minor cuts and scrapes but was otherwise fine, a small price for a young man who just wrestled a shark back into the Pacific.
Other beachgoers filled in details that give the episode its full texture. Stephen Copeland, a witness who spoke to KTLA, offered a detail suggesting Phan's Wednesday morning was even busier than the viral clip let on. Fox News reported Copeland's account:
"He was in his underwear... he said that was the second one of the day."
If accurate, that means Phan may have encountered two great whites in a single morning session, a reminder of just how close these animals are to Southern California's shoreline.
Another witness, Frank Paine, described the broader confusion on the beach. The New York Post reported Paine's account of the scene:
"The kids were doing yoga on the beach. Somebody yelled shark. And so these guys brought this shark in. You're not supposed to hook them."
Paine's remark underscores what Phan already knew: great whites are off limits for fishing along the California coast. Phan acted accordingly. He didn't try to keep the catch or pose for photos. He cut the line and got the animal back in the water.
The incident comes as Southern California enters its active shark season. The New York Post noted an uptick in shark sightings along the coast, a trend that has been building in recent years and tracks with broader research into juvenile great white populations in the region.
Studies from California State University at Long Beach have shown that juvenile great white sharks pose a low risk to swimmers. But "low risk" and "no risk" are different things, and the sight of a shark thrashing in the shallows near a popular beach is enough to clear the water in a hurry.
The New York Post reported that witnesses said the shark appeared still at first, then thrashed as Phan lifted it by its tail and pushed it into an incoming wave. That detail matters. A still shark on a beach can look dead. It takes nerve to grab one by the tail when it starts moving again.
Great white sharks are protected under California's fishing regulations. Phan knew that. He told reporters he recognized the species and understood he could not keep it. That knowledge shaped every decision he made after the shark hit the sand.
He didn't call a hotline. He didn't wait for a government agency to dispatch someone. He grabbed scissors, waded in, and handled it himself, with an assist from a lifeguard who arrived as the situation was already in hand.
There is something worth noting in that sequence. A 20-year-old who has been fishing for five years knew the regulations, respected them, and acted on them without being told. He didn't need a sign, a public awareness campaign, or an enforcement officer standing over his shoulder. He just did the right thing because he knew what the right thing was.
Footage of the rescue went viral within the week. The video shows Phan wading into the Southern California surf, maneuvering the shark, and guiding it back toward open water. It is the kind of clip that cuts through the noise, no politics, no outrage cycle, just a young man and a shark and a problem that needed solving right now.
Phan walked away with scrapes. The shark swam away under its own power. The beachgoers got a story they will tell for years.
Several details remain unresolved. No official wildlife agency has been identified as responding to the incident beyond the lifeguard who assisted Phan. The exact size of the juvenile great white has not been publicly confirmed. And whether the shark was formally identified by a marine biologist or simply recognized by observation is not clear from available accounts.
The lifeguard who helped Phan push the shark into the surf has not been publicly named.
California's coast generates no shortage of stories about regulations, restrictions, and bureaucratic tangles. This one cuts the other way. A young fisherman hooked a protected animal by accident, recognized the situation, and fixed it, quickly, personally, and at some physical cost to himself.
Phan didn't wait for instructions. He didn't file a report first. He saw a problem, stripped down, and solved it in the surf. The shark is alive because a 20-year-old with five years of fishing experience trusted his own judgment and acted.
That used to be the most ordinary thing in the world. These days, it makes national news.
