Jaws lurks off Majorca
With thousands of Britons due to fly out for summer breaks, a sight to strike fear into any holidaymaker – a Great White
THE summer holidays are looming and the beaches of Spain will be packed with British tourists. Worryingly, they may be joined by a fearsome predator.
A great white shark has been spotted off Majorca by a team of biologists.
They say they photographed a 16ft specimen close to the surface in a marine reserve six miles off the coast of the Balearic island – the first sighting in Spanish waters for at least three decades.
The potentially deadly beasts are classed as critically endangered in the Mediterranean, so the discovery has been declared ‘historic’ by excited scientists.
Holidaymakers may be less thrilled, however, at the thought of a sharptoothed monster slicing its way through the clear blue waters in scenes reminiscent of the movie Jaws.
The animal was filmed on Thursday morning by Alnitak, a research, education and conservation project near the island of Cabrera off southern Majorca.
It posted on Facebook: ‘In recent years there were possible unconfirmed sightings and various rumours, but this is the first scientific observation of the presence of the [great] white shark in Spanish waters for at least 30 years. On this occasion, this historic sighting has been photographed, filmed and contemplated by a crew of ten people from five countries.’
According to a Spanish documentary, 27 great whites have been caught by fishermen in the Balearics since 1920. The last confirmed catch was an 18ft specimen off Majorca in 1976.
In 2015 a 14ft great white was caught off the coast of Tunisia, a fatal attack on a scuba diver off the coast of Tuscany in 1989 was blamed on one, and one was sighted near Sicily in 2006.
Other experts who examined Thursday’s picture questioned if it really was a great white.
John Richardson, conservation officer at the British-based Shark Trust, told the Daily Mail: ‘This is a spectacular photo of a very impressive shark.
‘Based on the one photo we’ve seen, the shark in question could be either a great white shark or a shortfin mako. Given the rarity of white sharks and shortfin mako in Med waters, the Shark Trust would be delighted with confirmation of either.’
Great whites are one of 47 species of shark found in the Mediterranean, of which 15 are potentially dangerous to humans. Among the most common in Spain are the blue shark, which have been blamed for a number of recent beach closures. Earlier this month one was reportedly spotted off the popular beach of Arenal d’en Castell in Menorca.
While the presence of a great white off Majorca may not be welcomed by the tourist trade, some locals were delighted.
Jordi Gallego wrote online: ‘The waters around the Balearics Islands were waters this species of shark liked. I remember one washing up alive on the beach at Tossa de Mar in Girona.’ Ruben Castillo added: ‘Very good piece of news.’