15 December 2023 , 13:39
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A "massive" shark appears to have been filmed swimming off the coast of Cornwall - and has created panic among a local community.
A video seems to have captured the beast in the water in Penzance with what looks to be a fin poking out of the water. The footage was recorded by Rebekka Werren as she visited the Penzance Promenade, and the sighting attracted quite a crowd. Rebekka says she was walking with her partner and parents at lunchtime on Sunday when she spotted something unusual in the sea.
Quickly recording the movement in the ocean, she shared it on social media and plenty of people have had their say. She captioned the clip: "I’m horrified it was this close to the shore and MASSIVE."
The footage was taken as concerned crowds gathered at the popular spot for a stroll by the sea (Rebekka Werren / SWNS)She went on to say that the animal was swimming close to the beach for around 15 minutes before disappearing out of sight. There was plenty of speculation on the platform about the video but Rebekka seems certain it was a shark.
She told CornwallLive: "I posted it to see if anyone who knows about sharks could offer some insight into what species. I haven’t had any luck with that but was watching it from Penzance prom swimming around for a good 10 or 15 minutes and it was definitely a shark of some sort.
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"It was very strange - I have never seen anything that big so close to shore. It was on Sunday about midday-ish. I was with my parents and my partner. There were plenty of people around and a few others were watching it as well."
One person reacted to claim what she had witnessed was likely to be a sleeping seal. While basking sharks could fit the bill in terms of size and frequency of appearances in Cornwall, they only every visit our waters in the spring and early summer.
The footage was recorded by Rebekka Werren as she visited the Penzance Promenade (Rebekka Werren / SWNS)This summer researchers warned that Great white sharks could start appearing off the UK coast as they migrate north from the Mediterranean in search of seals and other food. Chris Fischer, founder of Ocearch, told The Times: “We believe they should be moving up past Brest [in Brittany] and Cornwall." Ocearch, which collects ocean data to help scientists with their research, plans to come to Britain next year in the hope out more.
Marine scientists believe the influx is down to the number of seals - a key source of food - present around Cape Cod's shores. Increased efforts by the US government to protect seals have helped keep their numbers up, which may also be a reason for the rising number of great whites around the region.
But another biologist has thrown doubt on the theory the beasts could reach UK waters. Gregory Skomal, who has written at length about great whites, said: “There’s no documented white sharks off Cornwall. They should be there but they are not and we don’t know why.”
According to the University of Plymouth, great whites have actually been reported around the UK since 1965 with as many as 100 credible, but unconfirmed, sightings over the past 10 years. Great whites are currently most commonly found around the North American coast off California, Hawaii and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as South Africa and Australia.