Thirty years later, the white shark reappears in the waters of the Balearic Islands

In the waters of the Balearic Islands, eight miles off the coast of the island of Cabrera, the Alnitak 2018 scientific expedition documented and filmed for about 70 minutes the presence of a large white shark five meters long. This is the first scientific observation, in 30 years, of the presence of a white shark (Carcharodon Carcharias) in Spanish waters, and in recent years, reports on the presence of this species have been limited to unconfirmed observations and rumors [19659002] The organization for the conservation of the environment Alnitak informed, through its Facebook page, the historical discovery, occurred Thursday morning. During the day, the expedition was coordinated by biologist Ricardo Sagarminaga, accompanied by biologist and documentary director Fernando López-Mirones and a team of ten people from five different countries. For 70 minutes, the team filmed white shark movements in the waters near the Natural Park and Cabrera.

The organization explains that the presence of great white sharks in Spanish waters was a constant rumor and historical evidence the coasts of the Balearic, Levant and Catalonia.

Reappearance of an old acquaintance

The white shark is not an unknown species in the Balearic Islands, although the last capture took place in 1976. In 2007, in a documentary by the Juan Andrés Ruiz reporter on the history of the species in the waters of Majorca was estimated at 27 shark catches by local fishermen in areas near the island between 1920 and 1976. [19659002] The capture of the largest specimen in the islands and the last of which is recorded arrived in 1976 by the fisherman Xisco López, that captured a white shark of more than six meters, in the area of ​​Cape Farrutx. Seven years earlier, fisherman Guillem Ferragut documented the fishing of a six-meter-long shark that went into its trap in the Bahía Azul area, south of the island. In subsequent decades, in the coastal areas of the Balearic Islands, dead cetacean bodies were found with teeth indicating that white sharks had not been extinguished in the archipelago. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has identified about thirty species of sharks around the islands and some of them are threatened.

In recent weeks, the expedition has conducted several investigations on sea turtles, sperm whales and dolphins. , bluefin tuna and rays. Information was also collected on the presence of microplastics at sea and measures were taken to promote the conservation of the environment and the marine environment.