Video shows humpback whale crashing into Long Island fishing boat

A Long Island family's once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a humpback whale near Fire Island is going viral on social media.

The family captured the moment a massive marine mammal slammed into the side of their boat, ripping a door from its hinges and tearing a hole in the hull. The impact nearly capsized the vessel.

Steven Heid, his father-in-law, Steve Bashian, and nephew, Oliver Samter, were fishing off Moriches Inlet when they spotted a school of bunker fish, a common food source for humpback whales.

Knowing whales were feeding nearby, the group shut off the boat's engine and began drifting, Heid said.

"You have to stay away from the bunker pods because the whales are feeding," Heid said. "I am a big conservationist, so I'm always very vigilant and careful."

As the boat drifted, the family watched a humpback whale approach. Heid told Samter, a senior at Roslyn High School, to start recording.

Moments later, the whale erupted from the water and collided with the side of the boat.

"This whale is coming toward us," Heid said before telling his nephew to record it on his phone.

"If it wasn't a large boat, I think we would have been in the ocean," Bashian said.

Samter said he feared the boat might sink after the collision.

"I thought it might have been damaged. Maybe we were going to go down," he said.

Despite the damage, no one was injured, and the whale quickly swam away.

Marine experts said the fishermen appeared to have taken appropriate precautions. Under New York's Whale Awareness Act, boaters are required to stay at least 300 feet away from whales.

"One of the things that is really exciting is that we're seeing a lot more wildlife in our waters, but by seeing more animals here, it comes with a lot more responsibility," said Rob DiGiovanni, executive director of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

DiGiovanni said the group appeared to have done the right thing by shutting down the vessel and avoiding active maneuvering near the feeding whale.

Heid said he was grateful the incident ended without injury to either the passengers or the whale.

"Thank God the whale swam off, and everything was fine," he said.

Experts say humpback whales found in waters off New York can grow between 40 and 50 feet long and weigh as much as 40 tons.