Sharks

[Ergo]

These Sharks were recently spotted around malta and gozo:

Ergo.

[Artist]

Il-veru sharks qeghdin jigru mas-saqajn.
Mix-sharks tal-bahar forsi tehlisha, imma minn dawk ta' l-art ziggi.

[Admin]

These pictures are fake. Try magnifying the splashes in the two pictures. You'll see they are identical, obviously copied using Photoshop.

[patriaomuerte]

Shark 'images' no more than a photomontage

Natalino Fenech (nfenech@timesofmalta.com) | Source (http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=191069)

http://www.timesofmalta.com/images/20050623_loc_11.jpg

Electronic images of sharks, supposedly photographed at Dwejra and Comino, doing the rounds via e-mail have been labelled as no more than a photomontage.

Alex Buttigieg, who runs Sharkman's work organisation, said the photos were obvious fakes.

"Sharks do not come so close to land and you can easily tell that they are just a photomontage. But we went a step further and sent them to a digital lab abroad and they pinpointed 101 details to show these are fakes and that people should not worry about such photos," he said when contacted.

Mr Buttigieg has been diving for the past 25 years and has been diving daily for the past 15 years. Yet, he said he never saw a shark in Maltese waters. "I know a few divers who have seen one in their lifetime. But they are few and far between," he added.

With the advent of summer, sightings of "big fish" are frequently reported but most of these would be either dolphins or tuna.

Conservation biologist Adriana Vella said members of the foundation carry out surveys on a daily basis "but we have yet to see a healthy presence of sharks in Maltese waters".

The great white shark, basking shark and devil ray are three species of sharks that are protected locally.

Earlier this week, the Biological Conservation Research Foundation (Bicref) said many species of sharks and rays were in danger of becoming extinct. Some 33 species of sharks have been recorded in Malta. A considerable number of sharks, usually measuring under a metre, are landed at the fish market. Most are caught on tuna lines.

Earlier this month a shortfin mako shark was caught about 30 miles off Malta

[Jurgen]

Radio stations are reporting that these pictures are fake as apparently they've been circulating on various websites. They are FAKE! But a Makoshark has been caught in Malta, 30 miles out of the coast, and its one of the biggest specimens ever caught! :eek:

[Ergo]

Are you sure crusader?? If they are really fake then i will remove them because dont want to cause alarm. I received these on email today and so you never know they might be, as people seem to love to spread rumours around for nothing. If you are really sure then i shall remove them

Thanks Crusader.

Ergo.

[patriaomuerte]

Who's the baddie?

Ernest Meli, Naxxar | Source (http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=191046&hilite=shark)

With reference to the letter Sea Predators (June 17), I was truly disappointed to see such a beautiful animal destroyed.

If fish farms were to lure sharks to our beaches I'm sure they would have done so by now. There is no danger! Moreover, the Mako shark does not pose a threat to human life.

Sharks have always been around but the question is, for how much longer? For every attack on a human, two-and-a-half million sharks are slaughtered.

It is not difficult to work out who the villain really is! I'm sure Johanna Mula Grech of Ghaxaq would not like her jaws to be sold for Lm126!

[Ergo]

Ohhhhhhh Patria thanks for that!!! I really didnt think they were fake!! :p Stupid me!!! So i do apoloigise for posting crap!!

Please delete the thread if you think it should be deleted, or shall i remove attach?

Ergo.

[patriaomuerte]

Sharks 'endangered' | Source (http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=190809&hilite=shark)

http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/images/spacer.gifhttp://www.timesofmalta.com/images/20050620_loc_11.jpg
Longnose spurdog

Many species of sharks and rays are in danger of becoming extinct, according to the Biological Conservation Research Foundation (Bicref).
Bicref said it was aware of this as a result of its ongoing conservation research on shark and ray species.

The foundation's voluntary members have been assisting in research work organised and run by the Conservation Biology Research Group of the University of Malta, which continued in spite of very little financial support.

Locally, a wide range of shark species were caught annually ranging from small individuals commonly known as dogfish to larger species such as the now rare Great White shark, Bicref said. At international level sharks were being given an important status in research because many grew and reproduced slowly. So if catches happened to be higher than the population could support, shark numbers would decline. This could cause an adverse effect on the shark species, on the area's ecology and on the fisheries sustained economy.

Bicref said it constantly advocated the need for accurate monitoring and data collection. This was a national requirement imposed by Malta's international species protection agreements that demanded the authorities allocate special funds towards monitoring and scientific research.

It hoped that entities already in place dedicating time and effort to such a practice were given the support to continue and to expand the work required at a national level.

[patriaomuerte]

Ohhhhhhh Patria thanks for that!!! I really didnt think they were fake!! :p Stupid me!!! So i do apoloigise for posting crap!!

Please delete the thread if you think it should be deleted, or shall i remove attach?

Ergo.

Why? You did nothing wrong! We can debate sharks thanks to this thread!

[patriaomuerte]

Fishermen land shark

'Absolutely no cause for concern' - shark expert

Herman Grech (hgrech@timesofmalta.com) | Source (http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=190267&hilite=shark)

http://www.timesofmalta.com/images/20050615_loc_04.jpg
The short-fin Mako shark caught some 30 miles west of Malta.

When Raymond Fenech went out on his usual fishing pilgrimage earlier this month he got much more than he bargained for.

At the break of dawn, some 30 miles west of Malta, he spotted a short-fin Mako shark trapped in his tuna fishing lines.

Before he knew it, Mr Fenech and his three fellow fishermen on board were bringing ashore one of the biggest sharks known to have been caught by a Maltese - weighing in at some 400 kilos and around four metres long.

"When we realised what was lurking beneath we were quite apprehensive. Realising it was still alive we tried to harpoon it and it turned fierce. But we had some good marksmen and eventually we hauled it out of the water," Mr Fenech told The Times with pride welling up in his voice.

Though sharks might be more renowned for their killer instinct, their meat is frequently found at fish shops (often going by the name pixxiplamtu), and many find it delectable. Shark meat may sell for up to Lm3 a kilo. But every relic of the fish made famous in the Jaws films, seems to be sought after. The jaws of the Mako shark caught on June 3 were sold for Lm126 after three fishermen bid for it.

Shark expert Alex Buttigieg - or Sharkman, as he is known - said the catch was absolutely no cause for bathers' concern, even if the Mako is considered to be the fastest moving fish in the ocean and is renowned for the way it leaps out of the water.

"The Mako is not a dangerous shark unless threatened, so much so that there have only been three known fatal attacks," Mr Buttigieg said.

"Normally such sharks stick to the open ocean and they rarely appear in the Mediterranean. Still, there is no reason for the Maltese to worry about. Sharks hardly ever approach the coast because they do not find enough food there," he said.

"We have to bear in mind that very few shark species are of any threat."

The public's perception is certainly different and shark encounters often send shivers down people's spines. The most publicised shark catch was that in 1987 when a six-metre Great White was caught off Filfla. A three-and-a-half metre shark was netted off Gozo in 1998. The last known large catch was made two years ago when a six-gill shark was caught off Filfla.Mr Buttigieg said the World Conservation Union red-list indicates that the Mako shark is a threatened species and should be protected, like the Great White shark.

In the past 10 years, the population of the short-fin Mako shark has dropped by 85 per cent.

[Ergo]

Why? You did nothing wrong! We can debate sharks thanks to this thread!

hehe i dont like causing alarm but yet again this proves that us people on this Forum are not like the rest of the GULLABLE population who believe anything that's presented to them! Rather, we are CRITICAL people and do our own checking out of things! Serjeta!! So this further proves a good point for VM! :p

Ergo.

[patriaomuerte]

hehe i dont like causing alarm but yet again this proves that us people on this Forum are not like the rest of the GULLABLE population who believe anything that's presented to them! Rather, we are CRITICAL people and do our own checking out of things! Serjeta!! So this further proves a good point for VM! :p

Ergo.

I agree 100%. That is why this forum is so good!

About sharks! They are animals like the others. Dont go in their teritory and you dont have problems.

They are beautiful animals! Maybe i wont think the same if by mistake i am in a great white shark's teritory! But right now i greatly disagree in the killing of that maku shark!

[Ergo]

I agree too that it should not have been killed since it's an endagered species. Nature is Nature and man is interefering with it too much. But the fisherman's wife (zeza) must have been very proud of her zezu for such a big catch!! :p


Ergo.

[patriaomuerte]

I agree too that it should not have been killed since it's an endagered species. Nature is Nature and man is interefering with it too much. But the fisherman's wife (zeza) must have been very proud of her zezu for such a big catch!! :p


Ergo.

hehhehe but at least he used the shark to sell it for food. Dawwar lira tajba zezu ghax talli qabad dak is shark ghamel kwazi LM1,400.

Nahseb zeza issa ghandha curkett isbah! :D

[Ergo]

hehhehe but at least he used the shark to sell it for food. Dawwar lira tajba zezu ghax talli qabad dak is shark ghamel kwazi LM1,400.

Nahseb zeza issa ghandha curkett isbah! :D

Hahaha Very true Patria!! But that Shark was an endangered species! So nothing gonna be done about that illegal catch/kill? In Malta we always seem to have our priorites wrong! We protect the Klandestini imma as those are not endangered it seems! They're in Abundance so we 'catch' them (or save them) and then take them in to allow them to reproduce and so they enjoy being prolific! :p

Ergo.

[patriaomuerte]

Hahaha Very true Patria!! But that Shark was an endangered species! So nothing gonna be done about that illegal catch/kill? In Malta we always seem to have our priorites wrong! We protect the Klandestini imma as those are not endangered it seems! They're in Abundance so we 'catch' them (or save them) and then take them in to allow them to reproduce and so they enjoy being prolific! :p

Ergo.

i think comparing klandestini with annimals is politaclly incorrect :D

[Marco Polo]

fine should be the price he got for it plus lm1k

[patriaomuerte]

I knew that the fake photos came from photos i already saw! Just visit the following site and see for yourselves:

http://www.onlyinmalta.com/index.htm

[Gladiator]

hehhehe but at least he used the shark to sell it for food. Dawwar lira tajba zezu ghax talli qabad dak is shark ghamel kwazi LM1,400.

Nahseb zeza issa ghandha curkett isbah! :D

Want to read more on sharks. Maltese diver is an expert.

www.strandmagazine.ca/january/feb2004/profile (http://www.strandmagazine.ca/january/feb2004/profile)


Enjoy.

[Cikku]

I NEVER worry about the sharks in the sea, I only worry about the sharks on land !!!
:p

[Florian Geyer]

I NEVER worry about the sharks in the sea, I only worry about the sharks on land !!!
:p

i'll go with that cik

[praefectus]

I think the only things Sharks could eat in Maltese waters is 'brown trout" anyway .... thanks to the MLP/PN gang .... :D (if you don't know what "brown trout" is, try looking it up on Google ;-)

Hint, it is not the fish ....