TOURISTS have been banned from swimming in the sea after a huge shark was spotted lurking close to the shore at a busy holiday spot.
Concerned coastguards called emergency services and raised a red warning flag after the seven-foot beast’s fin was seen sticking out of the water.
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The alarm was raised at around 3.30pm yesterday on the busy Menorca beach, Arenal d’en Castell.
It’s the same spot where another shark was spotted in June 2018, when swimmers were prevented from entering the water for an entire afternoon.
Although the swimming ban is now thought to have been lifted, the local council covering the area is yet to make any official comment on social platforms.
The shark was probably a blue or tinterora shark and the sighting is believed to be the first so far this year near a Costa beach.
Blue sharks are among the most common in Spain.
According to Florida Museum of Natural History The blue shark is “relatively unaggressive”, but is very curious and will approach divers and spearfishers, especially if food is available.
The International Shark Attack File states that the species is responsible for thirteen unprovoked shark bites worldwide.
The Tinterora have been blamed for a series of beach closures that have dampened the spirits of many sun worshipers hoping to enjoy the warm waters of the Mediterranean.
Although they rarely bite humans, they have been implicated in several biting incidents, four of which ended fatally.
A blue shark was blamed for attacking a tourist in Elche, near Alicante, in July 2016.
The 40-year-old victim was rushed to hospital and received stitches for a hand wound.
Rescuers described the bite as “large” and said he emerged from the sea with blood oozing from the wound.
In June last year, an adult blue shark measuring around two meters caused panic at Aguamarina beach on the Costa Blanca, in Orihuela Costa, south of Alicante.
Beachgoers were filmed trying to run to safety through waist-deep water as it approached the shore.
Lifeguards blew their whistles to warn locals and tourists about the large fish and urge them to get out of the sea as quickly as possible.
A woman, believed to be an elderly person seen being helped out of the water by Good Samaritans, reportedly suffered a panic attack when she realized the shark was next to her.
He turned up dead the next day near the rocks on La Caleta beach in Cabo Roig, a few kilometers away.
On the same day it appeared, the same species of shark was spotted in the port of Ciutadella, in Menorca.
When another blue shark was spotted on the same beach five years ago, a tourist could be heard saying as it appeared in the waves: “It’s coming. Oh my God, I think he’s dead.
A woman, believed to be a relative, responded “No, he’s not dead”, while other tourists began shouting in the background before she added: “Every time we go to the beach something happens.”
Blue Shark Facts
- They are the most common shark species in Spain
- They can grow up to 12.5 feet long
- They can live in both temperatures and tropical waters
- They can live both on the surface of the water and up to depths of 3,280 feet.
- Their diet consists mainly of small bony fish and cephalopods such as sardines, squid and octopus.
- Blue sharks are also known as Prionace glauca
- They have white bellies and dark blue backs, which helps them camouflage themselves while swimming in the open sea.
- Female blue sharks have thicker skin, as males initiate mating by biting a female between her dorsal fins
- Female sharks give birth to live pups about 15 inches long each, with litters averaging 25 to 50 pups.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
