Italy, Croatia, Mallorca: These sharks live off our holiday coasts

At the weekend, a stray blue shark caused fear among vacationers in Palma de Mallorca: There, a seriously injured, one and a half meter long blue shark was sighted near the beaches.

We know sharks mainly from the Pacific region like Hawai’i or off Australia. In fact, there are also numerous species of sharks native to Europe, which appear again and again in our waters and are seen by humans: 2019 vacationers in Croatia were frightened by a huge, suspected mako shark. In the same year, a great white shark was sighted in Mallorca for the first time in 30 years. People are very afraid of sharks, not least because films like “Jaws” paint a very martial image of the animals.

The good news first: Sharks are actually not interested in interacting with humans or even eating them. Despite this, sharks keep popping up in the Mediterranean Sea, sometimes leading to fatal incidents. Although little is known about the lifestyle or reproduction of many shark species, researchers continue to observe large shark populations in the Mediterranean. As the “World‘ reported, encounters with great white sharks have been historically documented for over 2,000 years.

The entire Mediterranean region is home to some shark species in addition to the great white shark, with most of the animals staying in high water and therefore rarely appearing near the coast. Nevertheless, there are always sightings in popular holiday destinations: in the Adriatic Sea, in the Strait of Sicily and in the Balearic Islands, among other things, there are young animals.

Worldwide it came loud “Tracking Sharks” this year to 39 attacks by sharks, most of which were not fatal. In Europe, the International Shark Attack Index (ISAF) only 54 attacks recorded since 1847. Most of these were in Greece, with 15 incidents, followed by 13 in Italy, six in Spain and five in Croatia. Compared to jellyfish, which kill around 100 people a year, sharks are relatively harmless, reports “t-online“.

All shark species are currently endangered worldwide, some are even threatened with extinction. Reason: The overfishing of our oceans. Sharks often end up in fishing nets as by-catch and are then usually killed.

According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) There are several species of sharks native to the Mediterranean Sea:

Great White Shark: One of the best-known and largest sharks, it may spend most of its time in the open sea, but pregnant mothers occasionally return to the Mediterranean Sea. The great white shark is considered a highly evolved predator and has roamed our oceans for tens of thousands of years. The animals can grow up to seven meters long. However, encounters on the coast are relatively rare.

Porbeagle shark: A relative of the great white shark, it looks very similar to it, but is also much smaller. As the name already suggests, it feeds mainly on fish.

Sand tiger shark: This species has a special gimmick: It can fill a bladder in the stomach with air, and unlike other shark species, it can thus hover in a certain place. This is especially useful when he’s resting in underwater caves. He likes to live near the coast and is nocturnal.

Blue Shark: They are among the species that are most widespread. This is probably the reason why, unlike all other shark species, they have not yet been classified as endangered. Blue sharks avoid coastal areas and can dive up to 350 meters deep. Like many sharks, they feed on other sharks or squid in addition to fish.

Attacks on humans are very rare. This only happens when sharks mistake humans for their prey. The great white shark, for example, can mistake surfers for swimming seals because of their surfboards and attack them. Researchers assume that these are only test bites. That is, when sharks bite and realize it’s a human instead of a seal, they’ll back away from their accidental prey.

Apart from harmless plankton feeders like the basking shark, sharks rarely come near humans anyway: if they approach the beach, they only do so because they are sick or injured. Attacks are then also extremely rare. This is also known from the Caribbean islands, where there is a relatively large shark population near the coast, but there are almost no attacks.

The problem, on the other hand, is that people get too close to sharks: overfishing or trophy hunters pose a major threat to stocks. If people approach the animals independently, attacks may occur. The depositing of animal carcasses can also attract the highly specialized predators.

The experts at Tracking Sharks recommend, to avoid waters where sharks are demonstrably frequent. If you encounter a shark, you should be proactive:

• A well-known tip is a smack on the nose that can dissuade him from attacking you.
• Also, pressing the nose down can put most shark species into a kind of dormant state.
• If the shark snaps, it can help to grab its eyes or gills. Also, most sharks don’t expect their prey to fight back, so they may let you go.
• If, contrary to expectations, the shark has bitten you, call for help. Even small wounds can lead to infection.

So vacationers don’t have to worry too much: Compared to other sea creatures, sharks are relatively unproblematic.

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