A great white shark was seen off the islands of Porquerolles and Port-Cros (Var), at the beginning of November 2024. The presence of the animal was confirmed by the Elasmed observatory of the Ailerons association , Thursday November 14, 2024, reports Nice Morning .
An observation also validated by the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) of Paris and the Phocaean Shark Study Group (GPER), as explained France Blue Provence . This is a Carcharodon carcharias, a species of shark in “critical danger” of extinction according to the list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Read also: But where are the French great white sharks?
A call for witnesses launched
“It is a little smaller than the female that we observed in the Camargue in 2022”specifies the director of the GPER, France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur . However, the animal is so rare that all observations are worth taking. Indeed, since the 1600s, 794 great white sharks have been observed, with only around forty in the Gulf of Lion.
Although the great white shark is protected, there are still accidental captures. They often occur during fishing, because the animal feeds on bluefin tuna. Scientists are also calling on anyone who has seen the animal to contact them. “The more reports, videos, and elements we have to analyze, the more we will improve knowledge on the subject”they explain.
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