This is the moment a family of tourists at a holiday spot favoured by Brits film the world’s fastest shark swimming in the water as sightings of the 10-foot endangered fish are on the rise.
The animal is believed to be a shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) and was filmed by German tourist Michael Braun in the Makarska Riviera, a part of the southern Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Makarska is a popular resort and British tour operators including EasyJet and TUI sell packages there.
Braun filmed the shark whilst on a boat with his family and at first it was believed that it was a blue shark but Branko Dragicevic, a scientific associate at the Institute for Oceanography and Fisheries, David Udovicic, a professional associate at the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, and researcher at the Marina and Freshwater Biology Center Frane Madiraca have said that it is a mako shark.
They said: “We consider that the most obvious signs show that it is a mako shark.”
The scientists published a work in 2014 called “On the recent occurrences of shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810) in the Adriatic Sea” which showed eight individuals shortfin makos were recorded in the Adriatic Sea between 2014 and 2017, having not been recorded in the waters in the 40 years previous.
The shortfin mako is on record as the fastest-swimming shark and the species is classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
It feeds mainly upon cephalopods and bony fish, but it may also eat other sharks, porpoises, sea turtles, and seabirds.
International Shark Attack File (ISAF) statistics show nine shortfin attacks on humans between 1580 and 2017, one of which was fatal. Adult shortfin mako sharks usually measure around 3.2 metres (10 feet) in length and weigh from 60–135 kilogrammes (132–298 lbs).
The video has over 594,000 views and thousands of comments.
Netizen ‘Marin Bilic’ commented: “It is too close to the coast, it should be shot before killing someone.”
And ‘Ivica Pauk’ added: “Just let the foreigners swim a little bit farther than you and all good.”
While ‘Jasmina Pericic’ wrote: “I thought there was no sharks in Croatia.” (sic)
And ‘Andrej Loncar’ asked: “What is this dear god?”
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Story By: Angjela Trajkovska, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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