Shark fin ft from shore terrifies beach-goers who feared ‘nice white’ sea beast
A mysterious shark fin was spotted off the coast of Porthcawl, in south Wales, on Saturday, with some locals believing it was a basking shark and others thinking it was a great white
A terrifying fin was spotted off the coastline of a Welsh seaside resort. The suspected shark was observed mere metres from the shoreline near Porthcawl, in south Wales.
Locals were divided over which species of shark had been witnessed. Some suspected it was a basking shark, which inhabits UK waters, though not usually during November.
Nevertheless, others believed the sharp-pointed appearance of the fin suggested it was a deadly great white shark immortalised by the Hollywood blockbuster Jaws. Whilst they have never been officially documented in British waters, there have been numerous unverified encounters.
The fin was observed by Dan Santillo on Saturday (November 15). He said: “It was moving but slowly.
“At first, I thought it was a sunfish. But I’m not sure what it was. A lot of people suggested it could be a basking shark.”, reports Wales Online.
“But some people thought it was a Great White too. It moved across the entire bay. And didn’t go under the water once. It’s there for about 30 minutes. It was very cool to see.”
Locals remained split about its identity. One remarked: “Basking sharks and Great Whites have very similar-looking dorsal fins, and given the size of both of them, it can be hard to tell the difference from the surface.”
Another commented: “That’s a basking shark. Was out surfing once, and one went under my board. There were sightings of a great white in an estuary in Cornwall at the time, so I completely wet myself.”
Another onlooker suggested: “Could be all sorts, a basking shark, mako shark, or porbeagle shark.”
Meanwhile, someone else commented: “I don’t know what it is, but I’m not going near it.”
Basking sharks, the most enormous shark species found in UK waters, aren’t usually seen off the British coastline in November, as their seasonal journey draws to a close during autumn.
The typical timeframe for basking shark encounters in UK seas runs from April until September, with most spotted between June and September.
These massive sharks are exceptionally nomadic animals and venture into deeper waters or travel southwards throughout the winter months.
However, whilst no confirmed great white shark sighting has ever been recorded in British waters, there have been a handful of believable accounts since the 1960s.
Richard Peirce, a specialist and writer of Sharks in British Seas, has investigated almost 100 claims from people who thought they’d come across great whites in UK waters.
He regards only 12 of these encounters as plausible.
Considering that some may be duplicates – where several individuals witnessed the same shark – that number drops even further to roughly seven potential sightings.
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