Huge shark fin spotted off Cornwall sparks warning and scares beachgoers
This isn't the first time sharks have been spotted in Cornwall; a blue shark was spotted off the coast last August.
Captured in a photograph, one local said the fin was seen 30 metres from the shore, but appeared too large for “the average basking shark” reports CornwallLive.
They added: “The photo was taken at 11am at Gunwalloe from about 30 metres ‘ish’, I can’t say what type of shark it is but doesn’t look like the average basking shark, so thought I would just mention its presence just in case.
“Either way, dangerous or not, it’s unusual to see any type of shark on shore this time of year with a fin that size.”
This isn’t the first time sharks have been spotted in Cornwall; last August, a blue shark was seen near Trelissick beach.
Representative of the charity, British Divers Marine Live Rescue, Dan Jarvis, described the sighting as “worrying” and that sharks rarely come close to beaches in this area.
There have been reports of injuries in the past. In August last year, the Penzance Coastguard were called to a snorkeller who appeared to have suffered a shark bite. The swimmer was injured and passed into the care of an ambulance team.
Although shark attacks cause worry, attacks on humans are described by the British Sea Fishing website as “extremely rare” with only 25 non-fatal and four fatal attacks confirmed.