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First of all, we need to make it clear that sharks have existed in the Mediterranean for a long time. However, they are usually just passing through the area and are usually just attracted by human activity or waste. As a result, they aren’t man-eating specimens and the risk of them attacking humans is extremely low.
What types of sharks?
It’s hard to believe that a basking shark was spotted near the French city of Montpellier in the Cap d’Adge. After all, it is the second-largest type of shark after the whale shark. However, this species is completely harmless to humans because it only feeds on plankton.
Another video was also recorded in southern Corsica showing a blue shark (a relative of the great white shark) swimming about 1.5 meters away from the beach. But this species only attacks when it feels threatened and so isn’t dangerous to just observe.
Is there a risk of Great White Sharks?
And of course, now everyone is asking themselves the same thing: what about great white sharks? Is there a risk that we may encounter them while swimming in the Mediterranean? What does this specifically mean for holidaymakers and residents?
The answer is yes. The only difference they have from their relatives in the southern hemisphere is that they have a slightly brownish back. They can vary in size between seven and eight meters long and the last time a great white shark was fished off the coast of Malta was in 1987. Unfortunately, the predator left no traces behind, and the statements made by the fisherman were also rather ambiguous.
In conclusion, there is no doubt about the fact that sharks have been living off the coasts of Mediterranean countries for several years now. The only thing that has changed recently is the spread and developments made in technology, so there is more and more footage available of these predatory animals nowadays. In other words, it isn’t that there are more sharks in the area, because after all, a large number of them are actually under threat of extinction! Check out the video at the top of this article for more information.