The moment a woman came close to a tragic outcome. The “beast” unexpectedly emerged from the depths of the water. VIDEO

A marine biologist almost dove straight into the open mouth of a 15-foot tiger shark as he prepared to enter the ocean off the coast of Hawaii.

A clip shows Ocean Ramsey preparing to jump off a boat and into the water off Haleiwa when a shark named Queen Nikki approaches her.

Footage filmed by the woman’s husband, Juan Oliphant, shows the shark swimming towards the boat before exiting the water and lunging for Ms Ramsey’s fins.

“And I was so excited to see her.”

The diver, who has worked with sharks for a long time and has known Nikki for over 20 years, steps back but remains unperturbed before saying, “Hi, Nikki!”

When the shark re-enters the water, Ramsey also prepares to jump back in.

“Actually, we were very excited for that moment. And I was so excited to see her.”

The video, which went viral on Instagram, makes it clear that the research shark was not attacked by Nikki.

Ramsey said he entered the water too quickly and Nikki “totally reacted to it.”

She explained, “I love that tiger shark. I grew up with that tiger shark, I think we were teenagers at the same time. And so I’ve known her for over 20 years.”

The expert added: “I saw it and it was close enough, fast enough, that it looked like it was actually heading for the tip of my fin, maybe.”

“I knew I had to pull back at that point.”

“There were a bunch of little fish schooling under it, so I could see its speed and I knew I had to pull out at that point.”

Ramsey, who works in shark research and conservation, said he received many questions after the clip went viral.

She wrote on Instagram : “Sharks are not monsters, they are important apex predators that must be protected from wasteful and cruel shark finning practices, shark fishing and bycatch”

“Did you know that commercial industrial fishing fleets kill 9-12 other animals as bycatch for every targeted animal they kill. Industrial fishing fleets supply most grocery stores and restaurants with seafood.”

Ramsey, who is executive director of OneOceanDiving and who regularly takes people out on the water to learn more about sharks, added, “Please help save sharks by writing to politicians, restaurants, stores and companies that kill, buy, sell or ship shark fins and shark byproducts and to those companies that offer shark fishing or sponsor shark fishing tournaments.”