A short video showing a gentle giant of the seas approaching fishermen who sound Bermudian has intrigued shark expert and marine photographer Choy Aming.

The researcher and contributor to the Bermuda Shark Project is keen to establish where the clip, which likely shows a basking shark cruising past a fishing boat, was filmed.

The video making the rounds on social media has been widely taken as being shot in Bermuda waters.

If it was, Mr Aming said, it would it would mark a first recorded confirmation of a basking shark, which is the second biggest fish in the sea, foraying into the waters around Bermuda.

“A couple of us were looking at the water in the video and the bait fish, and it does not appear to be local,” he said. “That bait would be unusual to acquire here, although I wouldn’t rule it out. They definitely sound local.

“Normally you would be able to track it down, so there’s a bit of doubt on its authenticity at the moment.”

Many viewers online took the shark to be a great white, which is an occasional visitor to Bermuda, but Mr Aming said the size of the fish was a giveaway.

“It definitely appears to be a basking shark, and a juvenile,” he said. “They grow to 30ft. If it is, and if it’s Bermuda, that’s the first ever recorded here, which is why we’re interested in the video.

“That would be a significant thing, so I would love to find out if somebody can confirm it.”

Basking sharks are second only to whale sharks in size, and are typically seen in temperate waters.

The slow-moving sharks are filter feeders, subsisting on plankton, and are neither aggressive nor pose a threat to humans.