2023-07-24 07:05:00
A shark was seen on Saturday 50 m from the shore, on a beach in Barcarès (Pyrénées-Orientales), which led to an evacuation of the body of water. Already in June, a fatal shark attack was reported in Egypt, a blue shark was seen in Alicante (Spain), and in early July, another shark caused panic on a Florida beach.
As is often the case when this predator is seen near bathing spots on several occasions, questions abound, with one fear in particular: are we going to see more and more sharks on the beaches?
From the outset Nicolas Ziani, scientific manager of the shark study group, warns that “it is not because we observe more sharks near the coast that there are more in reality”. These animals “have been approaching the coast for a long time,” he explains, but you don’t always see them. “There is nothing to panic about,” also assures Éric Clua, veterinarian and director of research at CRIOBE (island research center and environmental observatory).
“More fish along the coast”
Global warming and getting closer to the shark are sometimes linked, with the idea that a warmer sea or ocean could change the paths of the sharks. “Overall, the warming of the water is not good for the shark because the oxygenation of the water will drop”, which can be serious for him, indicates Éric Clua. “It can affect the habitat of the shark, but it is secondary”.
Nicolas Ziani recalls for his part that we are currently in the shark reproduction period and that the females move in these moments more towards the coast, where the water is warmer. On the other hand, “we may see more because there are more fish along the coast”.
Asked about France Bleu, Patrick Masanet, the scientific director of Oniria, the aquarium of Canet-en-Roussillon, also declares that the animal observed on Saturday is surely a blue shark, which one “often sees near the beaches in France or in Spain and often in July”, in part because “many small fish such as sardines or mackerel come closer to the coast during the summer. However, these are precisely the prey that the blue shark seeks. »
The human activity involved
Éric Clua adds that a shark that gets too close to the coast and runs the risk of running aground there is certainly sick, injured or disoriented. Without necessarily pushing it towards the coast, human activity in certain areas can in any case have an impact on the shark’s habitat, “like overfishing”, recalls the veterinarian.
Blake Chapman, biologiste marin, recently recalled on the BBC that in 1992 several shark attacks had been recorded on the coast of Recife (Brazil), a place little affected by these attacks until then. Links him to the construction of large commercial ports in the area at that time, which may have forced species to move elsewhere.
The overpopulation of coastal areas and the extension of tourism on the water could also explain why it is possible to observe more sharks than before. “The shark hasn’t changed its attitude. What has changed, however, are the men who are going more and more towards him, ”according to Éric Clua.
Very rare to be attacked by a shark
The specialists interviewed recall that this animal is particularly threatened with extinction. 90% of large sharks, for example, have disappeared in the Mediterranean.
They also point out that the risk of shark attacks on humans is very low, around a one in four million chance. Éric Clua adds that a good part of the attacks are due to a desire for human interaction with the shark. “You shouldn’t approach, not try to interact,” he recalls.
Since 1847, only five attacks have been recorded in mainland France, according to the ISFA (International shark attack file). In 2022, 108 have been in the worldcompared to 137 in 2021.
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