Great white shark in the North Sea?

In July 2012, a shark alarm was triggered on the Belgian North Sea coast. A few years earlier, also in July, it was reported to the annoyance of the tourism industry that a great white shark had been sighted off the coast of Cornwall. What is it about such reports?

Great White Shark in the North Sea

• First of all, the reports of sighted large sharks are correct. What is not true is the claim that they are great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). Although these populate all oceans in the world and are in coastal waters of both the temperate zone native to the North Pacific as well as the North Atlantic, but should only be theoretically possible in the North Sea occurrence.
• Great white sharks have become very rare even in their home waters. Man relentlessly pursued the alleged monsters, who are merely successful predatory fish for their own survival, for so long that they are now under strict protection.
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• The sightings of large sharks, which have repeatedly aroused great interest in the media, relate to the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus), which feeds exclusively on plankton and is harmless to humans with its toothless mouth is.
• Still, a basking shark is an impressive animal. It can grow up to ten meters long and weigh four tons. This makes it the second largest fish after the whale shark. Its occurrence in the North Sea is rare but possible and proven. If you are very lucky, you can see a basking shark from the ferry to Helgoland.


There are also sharks in the Baltic Sea

People tend to associate sharks with the Atlantic or the Pacific. But there are ...

• In addition to these huge specimens, other shark species are native to the North Sea. The dogfish (Squalus acanthias) is known, whose tasty meat is often bought as a Schillerlocke. You'd better do without this delicacy, because the shark species is now threatened with extinction. Only the dog shark (Galeorhinus galeus) and the small spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) live in larger populations in the North Sea.

Interesting facts about the great white shark

• Media news about the great white shark in the North Sea should make you skeptical. Still, the great white shark is arousing worldwide always interested. Its name refers to the striking light color of the abdomen. At around four to five meters in length, it is the largest predatory fish in the world. Particularly large specimens are also eight meters long.
• Since the animals like to stay near the coast and in shallow water, it cannot be ruled out that humans and predatory fish will also meet here. This is particularly common off the coasts of California, South Australia, South Africa and Japan. In fact, most of the attacks on humans come from the great white shark. However, their bad reputation is not justified.
• A great white shark likes to attack seals and other marine mammals when it has reached a size of three meters. It is believed that surfers dressed in dark represent the outline of a seal to a shark. This is how an attack accidentally occurs. Mix-ups can occur, especially in the vicinity of seal colonies.
• Unfortunately, people's hatred of the robbers has still not been dispelled. The animals are now considered endangered and, in some regions, extinct. Since they grow very slowly, become sexually mature late and produce only a few offspring, the populations can only recover slowly. The long migrations of the animals also mean that regional protection regulations are insufficient. In terms of age, the sea giants can compete with the giants of the land. The great white shark can also live to be over 70 years old, but not in the North Sea. Should a representative of the species appear here, it would actually be worth a report in the media.