Rare shark sighting due to lack of traffic
AN expert in marine science says two rare harbour sightings of a porbeagle shark in Plymouth over the last week could be due to reduced disturbance.
David Sims, Professor of Marine Ecology, Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton, explained that the porbeagle shark spotted in two of Plymouth’s marinas may be to do with a fall in marine traffic due to lockdown restrictions.
Footage was captured of the endangered shark on two different occasions at Queen Anne’s Battery marina and Sutton Harbour last week. A video taken by Megan Parker shows an up-close glimpse of the shark, which is a relative of a great white, while Summer Gilroy-Simpson, an ocean science student at the University of Plymouth, captured stunning footage of the porbeagle at Sutton Harbour.
Summer says a local father and his son, Alfie, first spotted the amazing sight, and she managed to snap some pictures and video before it swam away.
Professor David Sims said porbeagles are rarely seen in marinas. He said: “The shark seen in Queen Anne’s Battery looked like a young porbeagle, perhaps a year or two old – adults grow to over 3m in length.
“However, porbeagles, large or small, are rarely seen in marinas. They do hunt fish in shallow waters, so it is possible that it moved far into Plymouth Sound following fish schools.
“One reason that it may have come so close is the reduced marine traffic associated with the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
“During the main lockdown period in March-July 2020 in Europe, large pelagic sharks such as blue sharks were seen venturing into very shallow water and in harbours and marinas.
“This has been put down to ‘quieter’ seas, as fewer passenger, fishing and tourism vessels were operating at that time.
“Sharks are sensitive to sound, including ship sounds which are sometimes avoided, so it is possible that, if there has been a quieter ‘Sound’, this may have acted to help extend the explorations of this young shark into a Plymouth marina.”