Status: 18.08.2023, 19:10 p.m.
By: Martina Lippl
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Shark alert in the south of France: Less than 50 meters from the beach, a fin was spotted in the water. Then everything happened very quickly.
Barcarès – moment of shock on the beach. Lifeguards had noticed a shark about two meters long near the beach. Bathers were immediately evacuated from the water. The red flag hoisted on the beach. The shark was about 50 meters in the water on the beach of Barcarès (France).
"We went out with the rubber dinghy to check, and in fact it was a shark," said a lifeguard, as reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien. Usually, swimmers ignore the red flag, which prohibits, for example, bathing in high waves. But in this case, people were deterred. The lifeguards watched the shark for about five minutes while the holidaymakers moved away from the water.
Giant shark appears on Mediterranean dream beach: lifeguards shoo holidaymakers out of the water
Dream beach cleared: Lifeguards discover distinctive fin in the water. Experts suspect that it is a harmless blue shark (photo left). © Screenshot TikTok/imago
"You could see his mouth and tail at the same time," the lifeguard said. "He was all black. He was very calm, not aggressive at all, he didn't react to the engine noise."
Shark alert on the Mediterranean: "No need to panic"
Videos on social networks show a distinctive fin plowing through the water. Vacationers stand on the shore and watch the animal. The beach in the south of France was closed for about an hour. Then the haunting was over on Saturday.
Shark alert on the Mediterranean: Beach in southern France evacuated because of shark. © Screenshot Google Maps/imago/ Montage
According to experts, it is apparently a blue shark. Patrick Masanet, scientific director of the aquarium of Canet-en-Roussillon, explains on French radio station France Bleu Roussillon: "It is most likely a blue shark. You can often see them near the beaches in France or Spain and [...] and many small fish such as sardines or mackerel come closer to the coasts in summer. However, these are exactly the prey that the blue shark is looking for. I understand that the rescue workers are evacuating the beaches as a precaution, but there is no need to panic."
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Fancy a voyage of discovery?
Off the coast of France, a shark has been spotted near the beach. Experts believe that it is a blue shark (symbolic photo). © Jfibu/imago
Blue shark spotted in the Mediterranean Sea on the dream beach
The Gulf of Lion is a breeding area for the blue shark, marine biologist and oceanographer Bernard Séret confirmed to franceinfo. Although the blue shark is large, it is harmless to humans. However, some specimens of this species could be "adventurous".
The lifeguards would have done well to evacuate the beach and the water in case of doubt, as the identity of the animal was unknown. The marine biologist recalled that there are quite dangerous species in the Mediterranean, such as the "great white shark", even if they rarely appear.
Distinctive fins on the surface
On the beach off Mallorca, a shark sighting caused a stir in spring. The animal was apparently sick and harmless. At the beginning of July, videos of a shark in the harbour basin off the coast of Menorca circulated again on the Internet.
On an expedition, researchers spotted the world's largest shark and filmed "Deep Blue," as the animal is called. (ml)