UPDATE: Great white shark ‘spotted off the coast of Famagusta’

There are several media reports claiming that a Great White shark has been spotted off the coast of Famagusta in TRNC.

Going on social media activity and eye witness accounts of fishermen, the shark was said to be over five metres long. One fisherman took to Facebook to say that the shark was so close to his boat that he ‘could practically see the shark’s eyes’.

“My boat is 4.5m long and this shark was much larger than my vessel. From what I have seen on documentaries, this shark resembled a great white but I could be mistaken. I was so frightened that I was unable to take a picture of it.” 

The alleged sighting was made previous weekend.

This is not the first time a shark has been sighted in the north although there has never been a definitive sighting of a great white off Cyprus’ waters.

A man who caught a 3.5 metre bluntnose sixgill shark in May, sparked debate on both sides of the island.

Associations spurred into action calling for the end to hunting of the fish as they were in danger of extinction.

The great white shark is mainly known for its size, with mature female individuals growing up to 6.1m in length and 1,950 kg in weight. They can accelerate to over 56 km/h for short bursts and is arguably the world’s largest known extant macropredatory fish, and is one of the primary predators of marine mammals.

[Source]