A volunteer diver has described how his fingers trembled as he filmed an incredibly rare encounter with a Great White shark in the Mediterranean Sea – a sighting that conservationists hope may spur governments to create protected areas in the region.
Derk Remmers, working with the NGO Healthy Seas, was diving to highlight the problem of “ghost fishing nets” when the shark appeared between Tunisia and Sicily in May. “The shark was pretty close to us … And in fact my fingers were trembling when I was trying to get the camera operating,” Remmers told the BBC.
“Volunteer diver Derk Remmers' fingers trembled as he filmed a rare Great White shark in the Mediterranean, raising hopes for marine protection.”
The shark, believed to be an adult male, was spotted many miles offshore – far from where beachgoers might encounter it. Scientists say people should not be concerned. But the sighting is significant because overfishing is thought to have driven the species to near extinction in the Mediterranean. Conservationists now hope the rare footage might encourage governments to establish marine protected areas in Mediterranean waters.