GoPro footage captures terrifying creature after dropping it off 'shark-infested' pier

The ocean can be pretty scary, from the dark depths of the unknown, to the monster-like creatures that live beyond its shores.

But while most of us are pretty content living in ignorant bliss at what lurks beneath the waves, one man has pulled back the curtain on life under the sea below one of the most shark-infested piers in Florida.

In a thrilling YouTube video, diver Gabe Hall dropped his GoPro off a pier on Pensacola Beach, on the Gulf Coast barrier island of Santa Rosa.

The slightly terrifying footage shows a vast array of marine life, from hundreds of bait fish to sea turtles, to something much, much scarier.

Let's just say, if you're scared of sharks, you probably don't want to go swimming in Florida any time soon.

The Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier is one of the most shark-infested in Florida (Getty Stock Images)

Within seconds of the GoPro entering the water, Gabe spots a distant shadow in the background of the sea, which on closer inspection appears to be a tiger shark, though the eerie shadow is slightly too far away to know for sure.

While watching the footage back, Gabe said: "When people come to Florida, they always ask, 'is there a lot of sharks out there?' Yes, there are a lot of sharks out there, for sure."

For a while, the clip appears to resemble a scene out of Finding Nemo when all the fish are rushing off to school and work, as hundreds of bait fish appear out of nowhere and flock the camera.

If you're scared of sharks, you won't like what is beneath these waves (Getty Stock Image)

Halfway through the film, Gabe spots a 'super common' nurse shark, which he says he sees fairly regularly while diving around Florida.

"This one is a pretty good size, like a good 6ft from head to tail," he said. "They're pretty laid back sharks, like I've never had one advance at me."

Although Gabe said he did have a nurse shark come and 'check him out' in the keys, but he insisted it was purely down to curiosity,

"And that's just the honest truth with sharks in general, they're really just curious, but these are probably some of the friendliest sharks," he added.

Shortly afterwards, however, a huge tiger shark swims right by the camera, revealing just how big and terrifying they are when up close.

Gabe pauses the footage so you can see the stripes on the shark's back which earned its moniker of tiger shark, before revealing this type of shark is actually the second deadliest in the world.

It's fascinating stuff, but it certainly doesn't make it tempting to go for dip down in Florida.