SITGES – Not everyone knows that the Mediterranean is full of sharks. Usually, these are ‘friendly’ sharks. Sharks are not aggressive, not even the great white shark that most are familiar with from the Jaws film series. However, the beaches are evacuated if one becomes too close to the shore.
Coastal authorities, of course, want to prevent any possible incident. There are known cases when a swimmer was bitten by a shark.
Beaches evacuated
This Thursday morning, the beach in Sitges (Barcelona) was evacuated after a shark was spotted less than 100 metres from the beach.
Related post: Why are sharks dying off the Spanish coast?
The red flag was raised from 1.30 pm by order of the authorities and swimmers were ordered to leave the water. Also, swimming was not allowed on the beaches of Fragata, Ribera, Estanyol and Bassa Redonda.
Second shark sighting this week
Earlier, the beach of Vilanova I la Geltrú was closed to bathers. This was due to the presence of two blue sharks on the beach of Sant Gervasi. Furthermore, it was the second shark sighting in a week.
Click here for the RTVE Twitter account where you can see a video of the shark.
Several Twitter users have helped spread the word: @josepopinion writes that he was ejected from the sea because four large sharks were seen, according to lifeguards.
@meteo_garraf tweets that there is a lot of fuss on the beach and that the shark is one and a half to two meters long.
Fastest shark in existence spotted
The Cetàcea association, is dedicated to the observation and study of marine species along the Catalan coast. On July 3, it spotted a shortfin mako shark off the coast of Garraf, in the open sea. The shortfin whale (Isurus oxyrinchus) was 2.5 metres long. However, it can grow to 4.5 metres long and is an endangered species. This shark can swim at a speed of 70 kilometres per hour and is considered the fastest shark species in existence.
