The Dorsal Fin

YouTube user TheMarkFloro recently posted the above video which shows a fisherman reeling in a moray eel only to have it nabbed by shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus). While I’ve seen plenty of videos of tarpon and tuna being snagged by sharks, I think this marks the first time I’ve seen a moray snatched away from a fisherman. The fishermen seemed to take it in stride.

Houston’s ABC 13 is reporting that an 8′, 375 lbs. shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) landed in a fishing boat after leaping from the water. The fishermen were approximately 50 miles offshore from Freeport, TX when the shark landed in the boat.

None of the men aboard the boat were injured. The shark died after being out of the water for 4 hours. The owner of the boat plans to have the shark mounted for display.

With all of the cliches that appeared in the video report, it’s surprising that a certain movie wasn’t referenced.

The recent tragic shark attacks in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh have been surrounded by some strange reporting, bizarre theories, and a lot of wild speculation. The CNN report above adds yet another “theory” to the mix.

At 42 seconds into the video, Nina dos Santos asks, “is it possible we could see a ‘Jaws’ in Sharm el-Sheikh?” The question is posed to Oliver Crimmen, a curator at London’s Natural History Museum, whose response is, “it is possible in those waters. It’s a very wide ranging shark.” The question is asked while the two are seated with what appears to be the jaws of white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) between them.

Due to the fact that “Jaws” is a mainstay in pop-culture, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear a reporter ask if the situation in Sharm el-Sheikh could possibly be a “Jaws-like scenario,” in which a rogue shark has begun targeting humans. However, that doesn’t really seem to be the question that was asked. Rather, it seems as though dos Santos was questioning whether a white shark (the species of shark that was featured in “Jaws”) could be responsible for the attacks, when she asks about “a Jaws?”

Since the time this video was shot, evidence has identified that the two species involved in the attacks were the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) and the oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus). While Crimmin’s assessment that a white shark is “a very wide ranging shark” isn’t off the mark (assuming again that “a Jaws” referred to a white shark), the Red Sea is not a generally accepted habitat region for white sharks.

BBC News is reporting that another shark attack has occurred at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Sadly, the victim, an elderly German woman, was fatally attacked by a shark while snorkeling off of the resort in Egypt.

The recent attack comes only days after 3 other people were attacked by what has been reported as an adult oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus).

It should be noted, a recent release from Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) has stated that one of the reported attacks has since been discounted and the injuries sustained were the result of contact with coral, though the BBC along with some other major news outlets are still reporting that four attacks occurred last week.

While the beaches of Sharm el-Sheikh had initially been closed due to last week’s attacks, they were re-opened after environment ministry officials claimed to have caught and killed two sharks, which were reportedly identified as having been the sharks responsible for the previous attacks.

Video (seen above) and photographs of the capture of shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) were released by the environment ministry, along with the claim that the captured mako shark was responsible for the attacks. However, photographs shot by divers, of an oceanic whitetip shark involved in at least one of the attacks seemed to discredit the environment ministry claim that the mako shark they had captured was responsible for the attacks. It was later reported that a second shark, an oceanic whitetip, reportedly also involved in at least one of the attacks was captured and killed. However, HEPCA maintains that the photographs of the oceanic whitetip, taken by divers, do match up with the photographs of the captured oceanic whitetip, and that it is clear that they are not the same shark.

Beaches in the area have been closed down once again, following this most recent attack. Zuhair Garana, the Egyptian Tourism Minister, has stated that biologists are being brought in to investigate what might have triggered the string of attacks. The string of attacks is being considered highly unusual and many are left baffled as to what might be contributing to the repeated attacks.

Speculation that sharks may be in area due to the dumping of sheep carcasses by an Australian cargo ship has been widely reported across many media outlets including the BBC News article. However, there is nothing regarding this speculation that seems to indicate or explain why a shark or sharks would be targeting humans.

The Red Sea shark attack story seems to be getting stranger as more conflicting reports surface. According to a BBC News report, the Egyptian environment ministry have claimed that the shark responsible for attacking four people on Wednesday has been captured and is being held at a local national marine park. The environment ministry released a photo of the captured shark suspected of the attacks. However, Egyptian dive industry officials are claiming that they have photos of the shark responsible for the attacks, and it is not the same shark as the one captured by the environment ministry.

To make matters more confusing, the shark involved in the attacks has been widely reported as being an oceanic whitetip shark, but the captured shark featured in the photo from the BBC News article appears to be a mako.

The BBC News report comes on the heels of reports that two sharks were captured and sent to be dissected to determine if either was responsible for the attacks.

Additionally, The Washington Post reported that one victim lost a hand and another lost a leg in the attacks, while BBC News reports that one victim lost an arm and another lost a hand.

Among all of the conflicting reports, one thing seems fairly consistent, and that is the report that one of the victims is in critical condition. If this information is true, let us all hope for a recovery for the critical patient, as well as the others injured in these attacks, regardless of the circumstances surrounding them.