Unwelcome guests in our waters

The basking shark: This species also populates the Mediterranean and is regularly seen near the shore. © Ross Beane

First Saint-Tropez, then Sanary-sur-Mer and various spots around the island of Corsica, and finally more recently in Saint-Raphaël: this summer, residents and tourists have had sharks on the brain. After Faucon claimed to have seen the much feared fish three times in a row, Stéphane Lehembre, a boat captain in Saint-Tropez, also discovered a fin on the water's surface. He remains unsure whether it belonged to a shark or a dolphin.

At the end of last month, a couple in Sanary had their own Jaws-moment when they too spotted a fin poking out of the water. In an area where there are normally many divers around, Franck and Jennifer were the only ones out that morning to witness the scene. However, their mobile phone photos are not clear enough to be able to really identify a shark.

More recently, a sailing instructor from Saint-Raphaël has also reported a shark sighting. At first he thought it was only a piece of bark floating on the surface, then he recognised it as a shark: "I was very close to the animal and had the opportunity to observe it for a while. It had all the characteristics of a shark. I'm 99 per cent sure that it was one, " he told a local newspaper.

Last month, numerous people in Corsica spotted sharks over a period of several weeks. The creatures were identified as basking sharks, which are a completely peaceful species.

Although many in the region have been surprised to catch glimpses of sharks this summer they shouldn't be: it is already well known that various species of the fish, included the dreaded white shark or 'Jaws', populate the Mediterranean, as do a lot of other sea creatures which bear a striking resemblance to them.

Two years ago, for example, a dead shark was washed ashore on La Capte beach in Hyères. And last year, a suspected shark in Cros-de-Cagnes caused a media sensation when the beach was evacuated and closed. In that case, the body of a dead dolphin was eventually recovered whilst the fin that had been spotted turned out to belong to an ocean sunfish.

Thus, 'shark' spotting around in the Mediterranean and along the Riviera is not a new thing. Mike Riddel, from the maritime association Rimmo, explained to Nice Matin that indeed many species live in local waters, including hammerhead sharks, basking sharks and white sharks. It’s by chance that they occasionally get close to the beach. "No shark is a man hunter," Riddel reassures before adding, "that’s something they only do in the cinema. But since they have teeth, they can bite, just like dogs,” he goes on. It is therefore wise, on seeing a potential shark, to get out of the water but not to panic. According to the expert a hornet can pose more of a danger. Besides, in the Mediterranean sharks only eat other fish; so long as humans don’t resemble fish, there is no real risk to their lives.

Also, as the case in Cros-de-Cagnes demonstrates, some sea creatures can be mistaken for sharks. If you can look at them more closely a mix up can be avoided. An ocean sunfish, for example, has a very pointy, sword-like fin. Dolphins, on the other hand, only have one fin, rays have two lateral ones. Two fins of different lengths protruding from the water, one in the middle and one at the back, well that could be a shark and then it is time to vacate the water. Then again, if you spot a ray you may want to get out too - some species occurring in the Mediterranean have a poisonous sting which they use to defend themselves.

Rani Nguyen