This is the video of a large basking shark in Malaga bay that has gone viral on social media

The footage captures one of the harmless sharks, which reach up to eight metres long, in the sea near the city's port

Ignacio Lillo

Malaga

Monday, 10 July 2023, 10:15

A video of a large shark swimming close to the surface of the sea near the Port of Malaga has gone viral on social media networks.

The footage shows a motor boat sailing in the city's bay, close to the port, clearly passing a large shark - at first just its dorsal fin can be spotted above the surface, but as the boat approaches it can clearly be made out to be a shark.

However, it is not known the exact date the footage was taken. The heads of the Aula del Mar Foundation and marine biologists confirmed to SUR that the animal seen in the video is a basking shark, the largest fish in the Mediterranean, which reaches up to eight metres long. But it is as big as it is harmless.

The experts said that it is perfectly feasible for such sightings to occur, and that it would even be good news, as it is one of the ten species of shark that are listed as endangered in the world: in the last century its population has declined by between 50 and 80%, according to the director of the foundation, Cristina Moreno.

Marine biologist, Jesús Bellido, from the IUCN, said the sharks follow the plankton shoals in the sea, on which they feed (just like whales). In a previous sighting of this type off the beaches of Malaga, which took place in 2020 in the area around Sacaba and the Guadalhorce, the shark was even spotted with its large mouth open like a net to capture these small creatures. They are not dangerous as they have no teeth.

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