Three Vineyard fishermen had a real-life Jaws moment last Friday morning when they encountered a great white shark circling a dead minke whale that had become tangled in lobster line in the area known as Devil’s Bridge off Aquinnah.

An eight to ten foot blue shark was spotted meandering the shallow waters of Dogfish Bar in Aquinnah on Saturday afternoon.

An eight to ten-foot blue shark was spotted meandering the shallow waters of Dogfish Bar in Aquinnah on Saturday afternoon.

Benny Syslo, 20 of Chilmark, was out fishing for striped bass and bluefish with longtime friend Cam Alexander of Vineyard Haven in Mr. Syslo’s 21-foot Carolina Skiff on Saturday. At about 3 p.m., Mr. Syslo spotted the shark swimming close to the surface. The fish came into water as shallow as three feet, he said. They followed it for about a half hour.

Some came to revel in a summer weekend on the harbor, and others jostled for a prime spot to see the action. Some happened upon the hubbub, curious to see what all the fuss was about, and a few came to protest.

The word of the day was sharks: it was shouted when people saw a boat coming in with a telltale fin or tail, and T-shirts, hats, balloons and stuffed animals bore the image of the fish.