Looking to make the best out of a clear December day, two mates ventured off the north Queensland coast in a tinnie for a fish.
As they lay idle more than 10 kilometres out from Magnetic Island near Townsville, a large shark swam up to their boat.
On board, mechanic Andre Stagnitta decided to launch a drone to catch a better glimpse.
The perfect scene revealed more than a dozen sharks were circling their boat, explaining why the fisherman were often losing so many fish.
"With the clear conditions and some very clean water coming through we were able to get the drone up and have a bit of a better look around the boat," Mr Stagnitta said.
"Going through the laptop it would have been, I think, 16 [sharks]. There were shadows and everything coming up on the footage, it was crazy."
Andre Stagnitta says seeing the boat surrounded by sharks is a little unnerving. (Supplied: Andre Stagnitta)
Although north Queensland locals expect to see plenty of apex predators out at sea, Mr Stagnitta said the scene left him a little shocked.
"It just puts that emphasis on being safe in the boat — having all the gear and checking it over before you go out," he said.
"It is pretty nerve-racking.
"If you slow the video down when they're up beside the boat you can see just how big they are."
Dr Nicolas Lubitz says there are over 100 species of sharks off the Townsville coast alone. (ABC News: Freya Jetson)
James Cook University marine biologist Nicolas Lubitz said there was some evidence to suggest the sound of a boat engine could attract sharks.
"They know the sound of an engine, they know the sound of fishing rods, they're very familiar with that," Dr Lubitz said.
"If your engine is in forward gear you have less sharks around than when it's in neutral.
"The sharks can actually distinguish the sound between a neutral engine and an engine that's going forward.
"If you hit neutral that usually means you got a fish on."
Losing fish
Shane Fraser, who was on board with Mr Stagnitta, said the number of sharks taking fish off the line was a big problem.
"We had lost a couple of fish already," Mr Fraser said.
"All of a sudden we lost another mackerel to a two-and-a-half-metre bronze whaler."
Shane Fraser and Andre Stagnitto say they are keen to hit the water again despite the sharks. (ABC North Qld: Cameron Simmons)
Bronze whalers are currently not a threatened species and are listed as of least concern in Australia by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
"Routinely, out of the nine or 10 fish that you might hook up, you'll only land a couple of them into the boat. The rest get taken by sharks," Mr Fraser said.
"We go to the extra effort of running some custom tackle gear just to prevent break-offs and bite-offs and stuff like that from the sharks.
"It's a problem that's slowly increasing over the last couple of years."
Mr Fraser said although it was common to lose fish, population control should be considered for some species as numbers continued to grow.
"We didn't end up landing a single fish," he said.
Population hard to measure
Dr Lubitz said it was hard to determine how many sharks were out in the waters off Townsville.
"I wouldn't go as far as saying their populations are out of control," he said.
"Their numbers have definitely been increasing over the past 10–15 years, probably because of improved management. It also depends on what species you're talking about.
"Species like river sharks and hammerheads are probably not doing so well."
He said scientists could only follow trends in population rather than determining a more exact number.
"Around Magnetic Island and Townsville there's probably 100–120 different species, and they all have different population parameters," he said.
A shark was unintentionally caught during the video but was released unharmed.
Find more local news
Browse for your location and find more local ABC News and information