A swimmer was filmed grabbing a shark and holding its jaws wide open in a video that has elicited, shocked as well as impressed comments on social media. The man was filmed posing for photos with the shark in water at USA’s Cape Henlopen State Park Beach in Delaware.

A video of the incident was shared on Facebook by Delaware resident Rachael Foster, where it has gone viral. Many criticised the man’s actions, while others pointed out that catching and releasing a shark is legal in the state. Ms Foster later updated her post to say that the swimmer had not broken any rules by catching the shark and everything he did was totally “by the book”.

“For anyone commenting how this guy should have left the shark alone, or that this isn’t right you really need to educate yourself,” wrote Ms Foster while sharing the clip. “He did this by the book and was totally legal with it,” she said, adding that the swimmer later released the shark.

“His buddy simply caught a shark. He went out, opened its mouth to get the hook out, then he went deeper into water turned the shark around and released it!” she wrote.