Tens of thousands of blacktip sharks are gathering off Palm Beach in searh of food and warmer water. Researchers capture the stunning video of this seaonsal migration
Tens of thousands of blacktip sharks are spotted off Florida coast as they were heading towards warmer waters in winter. The sharks are making their seasonal migration to Palm Beach in search of food and hot water, providing a stunning view as seen from the above.
“There are literary tens of thousands of sharks a stone’s throw away from our shoreline. You could throw a pebble and literary strike a shark. They are that close.” Dr. Stephen Kajiura, a biological sciences professor at Florida Atlantic University’s shark lab told CBS 12.
The news may not be too pleasing for tourists or local beachgoers since blacktip sharks are known for their aggressive nature and had a history of attacking people close to the shore. But no fatal attack has been attributed to the shark this season so far.
“Even though we have this huge number of sharks – tens of thousands of them immediately adjacent to shore here in South Florida – we have relatively few bits,” said Kajiura. “When you consider the number of people in the water and the number of sharks in the water you’d think there would be a lot of interaction.”
Blacktips are named by the black markings on the tips of their fins and are usually around 5 feet tall. These sharks feed on fish, stingrays and squids and are commonly found in tropical and subtropical worldwide. Every winter, during the mating season, sharks move to warmer parts of the ocean and tend to stay in north during the summer.
Kajiura says that the first blacktip shark spotted around Miami Beach in mid-January this year. Since then, thousands of packs of sharks are reported in the area of the ocean.
Researchers are taking it as an opportunity to study more about the migration patterns of the shark as they are planning to tag them acoustic transmitters.
https://youtu.be/9By25r7SE_w
By Hira Bashir, I4U.com, SouthFloridaReporter.com, Feb. 15, 2016
[/vc_message]Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
