'I better move my toes': Fisherman's close encounter with great white

A fisherman has captured incredible footage of a close encounter with a great white shark after it began to bite their boat.

While fishing off the coast of Nambucca Heads in Australia, Tony Didio and his son Jason were amazed when the juvenile shark began to circle their boat.

"I was standing at the back of the boat myself near the outboard filming him on my phone, and I thought geez I better move my toes, I could lose them," Didio told the Daily Telegraph.

The keen fishermen had put burley into the water to attract fish, but instead it attracted the white pointer - who wasn't keen on the sea treat, instead attempting to bite the rear of their five-metre vessel.

"He was more interested in chewing the back of my boat than the lines we had in the water."

In the footage recorded on his phone, Didio toyed with the idea of reaching out to touch the shark, but eventually wisely decided against it.

"I reckon I've spent 40 years fishing and seen three great white sharks in that time, never a great white in such shallow water - that's quite alarming," Didio said.