This is such an exceptional meeting! If great white sharks live well in the Mediterranean, “you have a better chance of winning the lottery than meeting one“, Tanguy Carpaye, president of the Nature Biodynamics association, told us last April. However, a fisherman had the chance to observe and film an individual of approximately 4 meters in the waters of the Port-Cros National Park ( Var). The shark was precisely observed to the east of Porquerolles, 600 meters off Pointe du Sarranier.early November“.
“New specimen of great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) observed this week in the Port-Cros and Porquerolles National Park“, explains the Bormes-les-Mimosas diving center in a Facebook publication posted Monday, November 18. The center specifies that the Phocean Shark Research Group has been alerted to its presence.
“This is an individual with an estimated size of 4 m!“, adds the Bormes-les-Mimosas diving center.
For his part, biologist Matthieu Lapinski specifies in a Facebook publication: “these observations remain exceptional […] From 1989 to 1998, 85 observations were recorded, and only 46 between 1999 and 2008, i.e. – 45%…“
A 67-year-old fisherman from Toulon “saw the beast”
“I am the man who saw the beast“, confided to our colleagues at Var-Matin the amateur fisherman Henri Cavillon. The 67-year-old retiree from Toulon had left the Mourillon district (located in the south of Toulon, Editor’s note) and headed towards Porquerolles for a solo fishing trip when he filmed the great white shark.
“That morning I didn't take anythinghe smiles. And then, around 11 o'clock, I saw this fin from afar. Even though at sea you see a lot of things, he aroused my curiosity so I approached and cut off the engine when I got 20 meters from him. Afterwards, it was he who slowly approached me. He passed alongside the boat, then under it another time and after three or four passes, he left quietly.”
“I don't imagine he could take on a 7.5 meter boat like mine and I think he was injuredpursue the fisherman. I know that this is extremely rare, so, as I am sensitive to the preservation of the environment, I wanted to share my observation with a specialized association. It allows you to deepen your knowledge.“
As a reminder, the population of great white sharks in the Mediterranean is very low: from 0 to 250 sharks according to the latest estimates from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). There are so few white sharks in the Mediterranean that the species is considered “critically endangered” (“critically endangered“), again according to the IUCN.”While on a global scale, this type of shark is 'simply' considered vulnerable“, note the scientists from Nature Biodynamics.
