Incredible footage shows humpback whale bursting out of the ocean next to fishing boat

Incredible footage has emerged of the moment a humpback whale bursts out of the ocean right next to a fishing boat.

The video was taken in California's Monterey Bay, by Douglas Croft, 60, and whale watcher Kate Cummings. The pair witnessed the very imposing whale shoot up suddenly from beneath the water, before crashing back down again.

This is the extraordinary moment a humpback whale bursts through the water to the immense shock of the unsuspecting fisherman inside the 'Baja Sueno' vessel:

"It was quite exciting! Croft said. "Salmon season coincides with the time when humpbacks are returning to Monterey Bay to feed for the summer and there were hundreds of boats on the bay fishing."

"This whale had breached a couple of times before this and many times they'll just keep doing it. I went below deck to shoot from a porthole close to the water line. That's what gives this amazing perspective of looking up at the whale.

That the breach was directly behind the fishing boat makes really shows the size. Since the boat is closer, it should look bigger, but the whale is huge! If I'd been the fisherman, I'd probably need some new underwear."

"It was fun capturing this video," Cummings adds. "The whale had already breached multiple times much further away from the fisherman."

"But sometimes when whales breach multiple times, they're also heading a specific direction when they're underwater building momentum for the next breach. I figured the next breach would be around the fisherman because the whale was heading that way and sure enough...! Though I didn't expect the whale and the boat to line up so perfectly."