Shark Found In Sidon Poses No Risk To Swimmers

September 28, 2004

Release from: Mohammed Zaatari
The Daily Star (Lebanon)

BEIRUT: A shark found along the Sidon shore on Friday is not a danger to swimmers as it will not attack them, according to a Lebanese University Marine Science Professor.

According to Samir Laqqis, who spoke to Al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Monday, this kind of sandbar shark is from the Carcharinidae family. It is described as ferocious, but does not attack swimmers, Laqqis said.

Due to their preference for smaller prey and their tendency to avoid shallow beaches and the water's surface, the sandbar sharks pose little threat to humans despite their large size.

Sandbar sharks are most easily identified by their high first dorsal fin and they are viviparous, that is, they give birth to live pups. They have extremely sharp lower and upper teeth.

Fisherman Mohammed Dali caught the 200-kilogram shark, which is more than three meters long, off the Sidon shore on Friday and the fish was pulled to the shore and displayed at the fish market.

The owner of a fish display, Khaled Nodr, said that the meat of that fish is used in many seafood dishes, adding that the price of one kilogram is LL5,000. The sandbar's meat is considered very high quality and is marketed fresh, frozen, smoked and dried in other parts of the world.

Laqqis said it was the first time that this kind of shark was caught here, because it is usually found along the Syrian coast where fisherman call it the "gray shark."