Cyprus Mail 31 May 2020 - by Andria Kades
A shark seen in a video off the coast of Limassol is likely to be a shortfin mako shark, the fisheries department said.
A video circulating social media on Saturday showed a shark attacking a turtle in the waters. The video was posted by an amateur fisherman who said he saw the shark at the Lady’s Mile beach in Limassol, about one nautical mile and a half off the coast and 25 metres deep.
Later on Saturday evening, the fisheries department posted on Facebook that the shark seemed to belong to the Isurus oxyrinchus genus, more commonly known as shortfin mako.
The shark has been described as a cosmopolitan pelagic species, found in the ocean and sometimes on the coast. It is usually 270cm long, at the top of the food chain and feeds on swordfish, tuna, other sharks and squid. Occasionally this species also feeds on marine mammals and sea turtles, the fisheries department said.
The shortfin mako is classed as endangered according to the IUCN red list of endangered species and therefore its fishing is prohibited.
