Teenager rides on shark

/ Screen capture from YouTube

An American teenager has ridden on the back of an endangered shark.

Online footage shows Cody Garland swimming in a Florida coast while holding the shark’s fin. Cody’s friends are heard shouting and cheering Cody on in the background.

Another teenager who claimed she had also ridden on the shark called the experience an “adrenaline rush.”

But their behavior has stirred a controversy.

“When people spend a lot of time and a lot of pressure on a fish, it takes away the protective membrane covering the creatures back, this is potentially dangerous and has negative health impacts for the fish,” biologist Bruce Neill told ABC News.

It has yet to be confirmed whether they will face legal action.