Unusually many sharks have been spotted off the coast of Israel in recent months. They gather in shallow water off the coastal town of Chadera, some 50 kilometers north of Tel Aviv. „Here sometimes 50 to 100 sharks cavort,“ said oceanographer Ejal Bigal. Such a large population of sandbank and black sharks are rarely seen. Apparently, they would be attracted by warm water pumped into the sea from a nearby power plant.
The scientist from the University of Haifa has been researching for four years what drives these animals into the eastern Mediterranean. Over the past 100 years, 95 percent of Mediterranean sharks have been eradicated, Bigal said. It is all the more amazing to see so many specimens of endangered sandbank sharks in one place.
A group of scientists has begun to collect not only blood and tissue samples, but also ultrasound images of the animals. Bigal has already provided 41 animals with sensors to follow their paths. The scientists assume that they can observe and study the sharks until May. Then, according to experience, the fish migrate back to cooler waters.
