Watch: Commotion as shark spotted near beach in southern France
Lifeguards banned anyone from going in the sea for an hour as they investigated the sighting
The blue shark is harmless, but a rare sight so close to the shore
Anna L. e Marina Durante / Shutterstock
Beach-goers in southern France were left shocked after a shark was spotted just a few metres from the shore.
The incident near Perpignan saw lifeguards ban anyone from swimming in the sea for the rest of Saturday (July 22) afternoon.
Witnesses to the drama at a beach at Barcarès said it was a blue shark about two metres long.
Blue sharks are common in the Mediterranean Sea at this time of year (their reproductive season) although not usually so close to the shore.
Last week, two blue sharks were spotted at a nearby beach on the Spanish side of the eastern Pyrénées border.
Thankfully, blue sharks are harmless and do not attack humans, with the lifeguards who went to direct the animal away from the shoreline describing it as “calm”.
Fin is visible through the water
The shark was spotted in the early afternoon, swimming adjacent to the shoreline.
In the video below, you can see the shark’s fin sticking out of the water, as beach-goers flock to the water’s edge to catch a better glimpse.
After the shark was spotted, lifeguards were quickly warned, and they raised a red flag on the beach to signify entering the water was forbidden.
“Generally, when we hoist the no-swimming flag [because of swimming conditions], there are always people who don't respect the instructions, but this time, it dissuaded a lot of people,” one lifeguard told France Bleu.
Lifeguards kept the flag raised between 14:00 and 15:00 as they drove out into the water to move the shark away from the shore.
“It was really calm, not aggressive at all, it didn't react to the noise of the motor,” said one of the lifeguards.
Blue sharks are rare on the Mediterranean coastline and are not identified as posing a threat to humans.
Sometimes, younger blue sharks come closer to the shoreline looking for food – usually fish or squid – but tend to stay in deeper waters.
Around this time last year, a female blue shark was spotted near the shoreline at Hyères but unfortunately died a few days after being spotted.
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