The hunt for Europe's great white shark

[@murphyorama]

The biggest danger to mackerel 'stocks' in inshore off Britain and Ireland is pair trawling and other destructive practices of the commercial fishing industry NOT grey seals.

[@KernowekTim]

If Robin Vinnicombe says that he has seen Whites off Kernow, then that is factual information. No question about that.

[@Dodgybackjack]

Currently. He described a scenario where the seal predator (shark) dies off, resulting in a surge in seal population and the effects of this

[@pectenmaximus231]

@@DodgybackjackIt's such a specious argument isnt it? We're hypothetically worried about a decline in a predator population that there is scant evidence for. Wouldnt it be much, much easier to just look at seal population? Are seals becoming more numerous...?

[@lrh5206]

@@pectenmaximus231 scant evidence? Assuming you live in Europe, have you ever seen a large predator in the wild in anywhere near where you live? Feels a bit like the scantness of the evidence could be taken as evidence in itself.

[@SawdustSkull]

Eat nuts and fruit!

[@darryl_young]

I appreciate the work they're doing, and in the past I was a monthly donator, but I find it frustrating that they haven't explained why they didn't go into the Mediterranean basin as part of the Save the Med expedition. Tagging a few white sharks near Malta and Sicily would surely have been a good start. Maybe there's a good explanation for this, and that's fine, but I just wish they'd share that as a lot of people have been left confused by this.

[@SoulJAHJustICE609]

Good point , but more importantly , thank you for helping people help nature. Im sure the truth will eventually surface. NO pun intended.

[@paulmckeown3687]

Commercial fishing perhaps more dangerous than seals

[@cowboybowfishingoutdoors5013]

guess you haven’t seen the destruction they do on salmon in river mouths

[@catherinehoy5548]

@@cowboybowfishingoutdoors5013 as much destruction as the fish farming industry does to the wildlings? nope. The plastic pollution from discarded fishing lines is the killer ... so in truth, humans who eat animals are literally the worst.

[@KernowekTim]

Always.

[@iangill8984]

I have followed Ocearch over a year or so following their proposal to search for the Great White in Europe. One thought is that if they are visitors from the Med to the waters around Spain, France and the UK why not start where they are known to be seen such as Italy and Malta. If you can catch and tag some, then track them that would seem a good starting point. Find a population and track their movements.

[@gallosurfero]

Great point

[@bichillocv]

Their cash grab attempt failed

[@liamdebono1369]

I'm Maltese and I can confirm shark sightings are rare here

[@garethlennon9511]

Smartest thing iv heard , tag ones of the Spanish or French coast or western Mediterranean

[@elenifragkouli4756]

They're in the wrong place, whites give birth in the Med basin. Southern Ionian/Adriatic and in fact babies have been caught by mistake in Cyclades islands even, in the middle of the Aegean sea

[@JJONNYREPP]

The hunt for Europe's great white shark 1907pm 16.10.24 my only assumption to any of this being the brits and irish must have fished the hell outta those waters when great whites were knocking about the UK and eire...

[@benlloyd309]

There not in the wrong place they are looking for them in these specific areas. Chances are if you know where they are they definitely know where they are… they have tagged more great whites than any other team of researchers

[@tatzybatzy1286]

Their Ceo gives me similar vibes as the Oceangate guy..

[@Mark-ml3nv]

I once saw a Great White following a ferry I was on, going to Crete. A few years back, not a Basking shark.

[@jeffreylebowski519]

I was told a similar thing while I was on Kefalonia from a frequent visitor, it's just that the tourist industry keep a tight lid on it as tourism is just about the only thing that keeps the country from going bust!

[@JJONNYREPP]

The hunt for Europe's great white shark 1906pm 16.10.24 cool. why would you wanna catch a great white, would be my question?

[@TheDemonGamerOfFleetStreet]

No!

[@MegaLaban12345]

It was a basking shark, I was on the same boat

[@JJONNYREPP]

@@MegaLaban12345 Comments on ‘The hunt for Europe's great white shark’ 1333pm 24.10.24 basking sharks are pretty cool they should be left alone as should the great white...

[@Mr-millen]

The biggest great white sharks 🦈 have been caught in the Mediterranean especially off the coast of Malta

[@sc1837]

Wasn't that 40/50 years ago

[@Edward.1979.]

1987

[@remcovanek2]

People have seen a fin or two poking out of the clear blue surface, but never a full sighting. The only time when a shark was actually caught in Malta was in 1987 when Alfredo Cutajar, a fisherman, caught a female Great White Shark close to Filfa! This shark was thought to be the largest shark caught at the time.

[@c2jones]

Chat with shark biologists. They dispute those Malta claims, especially to those sizes. (Even worse, those fantastical fish stories.)

[@idratherbeaphilthanajustin9533]

Mexico.

[@ddraigmafon4725]

I learned to scuba dive in Malta in the late 80s. One of our qualifying dives from Comino was moved to a different site off Malta because a great white had been sighted in the area.

[@petercummins8145]

There is research ongoing of the south west of Ireland looking for great white sharks

[@MRIWILLPLAY]

The Ocearch guy seems more interested in catching great whites than actually preserving anything. They should really be looking at fish populations to determine how much of an impact over fishing is having. Ocearch have also been responsible for great white deaths and their tags barely last a month normally.

[@lukelloyd7934]

Like a lot of Americans, his ego is well out of check.

[@TaraVon]

Finally someone calling these people out. What they do seems truly inhumane to me and actually harmful to the sharks. The stress it causes these sharks alone just isn’t worth it.

[@Sharky-Spence]

Great piece of film @Guardian and well documented. Everyone has an opinion on it. Are they / aren’t they here? Occasional visitors to the UK, probably yes. If you think there are 4 species of shark which can self-regulate their body temperature. Porbeagle, Thresher, Mako and GW. We have 3 out of the 4. The mako numbers in the UK are extremely low, which would indicate why the GW numbers are lower (as they are less common in numbers than a Mako). Interesting film, and wasn’t expecting Ocearch to find anything in UK waters. Definitely more of a chance in Biscay area, but if they wanted to save the ‘Med’, why not go into the med, where they are known to frequent, and tag one there. Then you would know categorically where they travel, if they do leave the med. Definitely more feasible now that the Tuna numbers in the UK have rocketed and the Seal population has increased expediently. 🦈

[@lbjcb5]

Osearch is doing good work! Thank you for spotlighting their work!

[@monsterforge1763]

Greg Skomal, does it better... and far less intrusive.

[@Pahakyy]

No they're not.

[@realvilla]

They look like grifters to me

[@LordBuntaro]

The largest white shark caught to date (not only in the Mediterranean, in all the world) has been a 7-meter female in Malta, in 1987; and in 2009 a 4-meter female was trapped in a tuna bait station in a spanish company, near Tunisia. Photographs of both events are on the internet There are many photographs, from Spain, Italy, Greece, etc., of captured white sharks, enormous specimens, which have nothing to envy those from other places in the world By the way, whoever wants real information about sharks, in this case great whites, should ask the fishermen. Neither biologists, nor scientists, etc, to the fishermen. They know everything. In Mallorca, for example, fishermen have always known them as " salroig ", and they say that the babies usually go in pairs. Obviously, everything is silenced by tourism The white shark is a very particular animal: it does not survive in captivity; It is very elusive; usually spy by sticking his head out, etc. Many people say they have never seen it, even when diving. But it must be taken into account that the mobility patterns of the Mediterranean white shark have nothing to do with those of other places in the world. The main prey of the Mediterranean white shark is tuna, which is a very itinerant prey, nothing to do with those large populations of marine mammals in other parts of the world, which force a large number of white sharks to concentrate in the same place, being very easy to observe

[@Edward.1979.]

5.7m Female Great white was caught( she got entlaged in the net of fishing boat ) near island Jabuka (Croatia) in Adriatic sea back to july 2003

[@r1bew42]

I was in Malta in 1987 as a 16 Yr old on holiday. I hired a windsurfer and managed to go out on it quite far but couldn't turn around so I had to swim back in pulling the board which took forever. I had no idea there were sharks there and when I heard about the huge white caught there I felt sick. Could of been it's dinner. Horrendous to think of.

[@MsTriangle]

They don't attack humans there

[@buceoApulmon]

I wonder why they would go to Brittany, where Great whites are absent, instead of going to the Mediterranean.. A great white was filmed by fishermen near Marseille a while ago, following the migration of blue fin tunas..

[@balexic]

For some reason white sharks hang around in the northern part of the Adriatic (near Pula). If you search white shark attacks in the Adriatic you see many attacks over the last 120 years or so. I think the white sharks are feeding on Tuna, because there are not a lot of seals in the Adriatic. It could also be a breeding area for white sharks.

[@jongarratt5383]

Sorry accidently tapped thumbs down, have corrected it now.

[@oliverschmidt1988]

Chris „Fisher“… are you kidding me?!😂

[@realvilla]

Scientists are always saying things like 'losing is not an option' and 'our critics are motivated by jealousy'. Oh no sorry, I meant Narcissists.

[@paulreid5259]

I was on holiday in Lanzarote, swam out to the bouys and as I was swimming back to the beach, in the wash was a huge tooth. As you can imagine, I exited the water sharpish.

[@cm-oo1td]

Iv heard the bloke from ocearch was a bit salty and now iv seen it 😂..... Oh and if your calling your expedition med you need to look in the med

[@tblcville]

considering the decimation of european fisheries by overfishing i doubt they see any sharks,, or even any substancial amount of any fish

[@shogunpxp]

They don't find any. They don't even go into the med where they mostly are

[@Luritsas]

Sharks period or great whites? There's plenty of sharks.

[@wokenup5273]

@tblcville There are loads of sharks off the coast of Ireland and Wales and South West England. Just not great whites, although I'm sure they do follow the tuna and sometimes stray into our waters. Catch and release shark anglers usually catch several in a trip out fishing.

[@Luritsas]

@@wokenup5273 Same in northern Spain, we spot some here and there but very sporadically. Last great white spotted in European Atlantic waters was spotted here.

[@shogunpxp]

@@Luritsas grate whites

[@sg9524]

Thankyou Ocearch for seeing if there were any great whites off north east France, I can surf, swim and learn to wing foil with a high level of peace of mind. A zero result is still an important result, good luck with your monitoring.

[@kichmadev]

Croatian fisherman cought a small great white shark (1.5m) near Rogoznica in 2023. It seams to be very rare in Jadran where we have 33 other species of shark.

[@mrcrumb4302]

It’s the poor beagles I feel sorry for…

[@deividas_kimontas]

Incredible predator! 🔥 Sharks are so important to the world's eco system! I love fishing, but I wouldn't want that on the end of my line! 😅

[@JJONNYREPP]

The hunt for Europe's great white shark 1916pm 16.10.24 the water temps are fine for great whites to thrive... if they can thrive around the waters of Alcatraz, they can easily thrive around Uk waters and France. maybe the food stocks are too low.

[@jimgritty7064]

These Osearch sharks can also be tracked by shark hunters

[@twandamhof3517]

That’s a wild claim😂

[@Spinakker2341]

Plausible comment - tracker data is available publicly - whether someone would be that daft is another matter

[@oraz.]

Or just killed by this procedure which has happened many times

[@twandamhof3517]

Exactly lol, if I’m hunting sharks, I’d go where they are known to be, toss bait and take whichever bites, I’m not tracking it with my boat to the idk go underwater and shoot it or smth?😂 it’s a fish not a deer, deer you can track and kill, shark not so easy

[@raclark2730]

@@oraz. Source.

[@lisac7191]

So glad i came across this passionate man and his awesome team what a wo derful legacy to leave the future generation and save our sharks. Xxxxxx

[@richardjohnson5529]

Important work thank you

[@lornasalvatore182]

Great documentary!

[@theGuardian]

Well, thank you very much!

[@lisac7191]

I love this doing it to save such a beautiful poweful fish. Xxx

[@kathyhenderson1950]

The waters off southern Australia are famous for giant great white sharks. Have been cage diving there and have seen dozens on every dive. They are huge.🦈🦈😮

[@roofingcontractors3349]

Port and starboard just entered chat

[@islamicschoolofmemestudies]

The great white sharks are in Italian waters...not in Britain 😂

[@dazomahony]

Think your missing the point buddy

[@psulionz87]

@@dazomahony think you're missing the '''re" on "your," buddy

[@dazomahony]

@@psulionz87 oh shoot it’s the grammar police 👮

[@endahanley1679]

It's more about ego's than sharks by the look of it.

[@georgedawson235]

My thoughts exactly It's hard to watch

[@rolrallye]

I don’t agree, I think this man truly loves great whites and after seeing the old photos of the huge ones around Italy and Malta is hoping that they are still around to keep the oceans and seas healthy. If they’re not there it’ll be tragic

[@pieterveenders9793]

Maybe. Or perhaps it's because if they didn't catch any Great White Sharks that would mean their population has already declined to such a low point that they're basically on the brink of becoming extinct in European waters. That guy from Ocearch definitely sounds like has a big ego and brags a lot, but that doesn't mean he's doing it for the wrong reasons.

[@matissabikis7605]

And what is not about the ego when you commit to something fully ?

[@raclark2730]

Tagging is a important part of conservation. Maybe have a think and a read before jumping to conclusions.

[@nshorus5001]

Leave the sharks alone!

[@MsTriangle]

Shouldn't they concentrate on the Mediterranean instead of coasts of France?

[@Fara_Bale]

Based on recent studies Atlantic white sharks and Mediterannean white sharks are, incredibly, two genetically distinct populations which makes 'The hunt for Europe's great white shark' a bit confusing.

[@ryanmcgrath339]

It's how the great white is just laying there not thrashing about is scary. It's like he's thinking just get it over with and put me back

[@johnwood8401]

Good luck guys 🍀

[@LisaBaines-d6m]

Ironic, that a few weeks ago. Video was taken in France of a white shark. Verified by experts who saw the video. For all the effort they put in. They go home and a white shark is verified off the French coast. Goes to show, in European waters, they truly are elusive and rare. But they are there.

[@amethyst9214]

Loved the original sharkmen to programmes

[@michaelmcguinness4108]

Great job that you and your crew doo,,,total respect

[@johnmutton799]

I remember a big shark washed up on Bridlington beach, it had a massive bite taken out of it's side. It was not done by orca, it was done by another large shark! People in Britain think they are safe in the water.

[@m.halcyon5772]

The countries of the Mediterranean and Europe need to have a policy agreement for the safe sustainability of the waters and all they provide.

[@Pahakyy]

And they didin't even visit the Mediterranean, but the Atlantic. They also sailed from the US, which obviously didn't make sense. Just a waste of money.

[@searcaig]

It would have been a better idea to tag some Mediterranean Great Whites and track them to determine if they moved into the Atlantic. Perhaps the Spanish / Portuguese Orcas are eating them?

[@timeladyshayde]

Because they know great whites are in the Med.

[@kay834]

seems like a big tourist outing with NGO money !

[@mattw161]

@@timeladyshayde Literally lol, it's common knowledge there are great whites in the med

[@Pahakyy]

f'ing this. No plan, no ethics, no-go.

[@manlatycon]

Home port _Park City, Utah. That's a pretty high tide needed to sail in there.

[@A.Mardle]

A massive Great White was landed at Concarneau in the 20th century. The have historically been found in Breton waters.

[@donaldvanvliet9039]

One swallow doesn’t make it spring.

[@AlK-t4x]

seems more macho than educational

[@ReasonablyArsenal]

this made me laugh.

[@oraz.]

Definitely, and they've killed quite a few sharks this way.

[@cabinessenceking]

He comes across as a cowboy who want to be featured on sharkweek and other infotainment programmes rather than perform rigerous science.

[@AnkleMuncher]

"Never seen a bad thing happened to sharks after capture" then shows one getting stabbed with needils

[@mahe-2268]

Why do you need to hunt that wonderful animal down? Leave them alone !

[@kylegray3838]

thank you, someone gets it !

[@paulsharp1712]

Why has Ocearch taken the "Save the Med" name? There is a long standing NGO named "Save The Med" based in Mallorca. It's not OK to appropriate a local NGOs name like that!?

[@realvilla]

Why does this guy remind me of Stockton Rush

[@klausrusso2870]

Couldn't be more American then..." we are the best at what we do", meantime back in reality world...🤫🤔🙄

[@williamnoble294]

Very interesting

[@chrisklefto]

wrong place to find a GW and they suppose that they are experts for that, you can search for GW between Greece and Italy and thank me later

[@scottjoswald]

They can have our GW's we got way too many here on the east coast of Australia.

[@alessandromazzi1939]

Wow! Classic US decontexual appproach, seals are almost extinct, there is no danger of the, overfishing, the issue is us.

[@AGXtube]

Fantastic video and narration/host @TheGuardian

[@theGuardian]

Thanks very much, I'll pass your message on to Richard and Kyri.

[@Badgerman913]

The moral of the story is a balanced ecosystem is a healthy system. More marine sanctuaries and less fishing would go along way towards righting this.

[@dickie8184]

People saying why didn't they look in the he med. A few years ago a great white was spotted in La Rochelle. Have a look where that is on the map.

[@Biking87]

Just leave them alone

[@GroppeljohannKlotenkempe-vr6oh]

Wow that Mr Fischer has quite a lot of self esteem mildly put 😬

[@Flammper]

The presenter sounds alot like Steve Backshall

[@JustinMurray170fin]

Here's a novel idea: Cull seals (😮 they are so pretty...)

[@simondalton-vr9vw]

There we go find it kill it and be like we found it

[@thomasbijl9395]

According to scientist Kristian Parton, they are looking in the wrong place in Europe.

[@josiemarsh7844]

Seen heeps in Australia

[@SawdustSkull]

How can you kill a majestic fish like that! Humans are the real threat

[@unSTEVOED]

The whole of Europes coast line is barren - over fishing has decimated its fish stocks

[@srvuk]

I have loved Sharks and the research of for over 50 years but I don't think that this is the best use of money and resources. It is not as if anybody has an issue that needs some form of understanding. Whites will very likely travel into such European areas at the right times but the fact that so very fee have ever seen or documented them, it seem very unlikely that there is any significant population. Ergo this comes across as more of an ego trip than anything with great scientific benefit.

[@markusberndgeorg2385]

Sie sollten es bei Rimini Italien Adria versuchen, dort gab es in den letzten Jahren Sichtungen, sogar auf Video, wo ein großer Weißer einem Fischer seinem Thunfisch gefressen hat. GOTTES SCHUTZ U. SEGEN 💙🇻🇦(FSSPX-Wien)💒🛐💙

[@Flotilla123]

We must take this more seriously

[@kirkdunn1379]

the issue with white sharks is they travel enormous distances....will be in italy one week than South Africa a month later, the possibly Austraila.....I dont think they are really all that complicated of an animal...same as any other predator and they also probably congregate in the Atlantic like they do in the Pacific they are highly efficient and intelligent for what they are.....if they wanted they could have a Human Lunch everyday all around the world but they dont...the reasons they do attack Humans on the rare occasion is very simple am sure......territory, competition, pure hunger, curiosity and sometimes they just get it wrong.....

[@gerard8764]

Where in Europa u see a big white shark?😂

[@KernowekTim]

"Chons da!" as we say in Kernowek😉

[@pieterveenders9793]

Utterly disgusting fact: Spain is one of the biggest commercial shark fishing nations in the world, ranking 4th. They're literally responsible for clearing out the Mediterranean of its sharks, not to mention killing insane amounts of sharks in the Atlantic as well. This is one of those times the EU could finally do some important good by banning shark fishing in all of the EU, as well as outside of EU waters but by EU nations. Perhaps then the populations of GWS, mako's, hammerhead's and others could slowely restore again, and roam the waters that were their home long before us humans started destroying it.

[@Ren-sl2mx]

I m italian…the italian people think that great white sharks and sharks in general dont swim in the Mediterranean sea…the last news about great white is the death of Luciano Costanzo into tuscanian waters, feb 1989…in USA, Australian and South Africa the great white sharks are ALWAYS present, drones captured images every day…in the mediterranean sea NEVER… Probably are extremely rare…

[@LordBuntaro]

A 4-meter female was captured in 2009, in Tunisia, in a tuna feedlot owned by a Spanish company. Do you still think there are no sharks in the Mediterranean? What you say, that they are not seen, does not mean that they are not there. Luciano possibly never saw any in his life, until that fateful day. And the white shark is a very elusive animal, and if you add to this that the mediterranan white shark feeds on a very itinerant prey such as tuna (its main prey) you will see that its mobility pattern, etc, is different, compared to other populations that in the rest of the world feed on marine mammals (sea lions, sea lions, etc.) where their food is more concentrated in one place, and it is easier to see them

[@petersmith5915]

Theyve got no chance of finding anything, but its important they came n tried, to help prove they arent here, imo.

[@massimogazzola1427]

There's some-fin weird with this video....why did i chews this 😏

[@bl4384]

Easy to catch..we are not allowed to catch or photograph them - so we rig our traces so that they bite the trace off. They tend to wrap around the metal trace and bite it off higher up...

[@stevo90401]

Those poor beagles...

[@silentmajority8365]

The black and brown sharks are worse

[@alanwayte432]

Why did they not go into the Mediterranean, makes no sense especially around the Italian coast ..

[@jpmor7327]

It starts with wildlife and eventually once the technology is perfected, it will be used on us.

[@mattadders9819]

Only one man knows how’t to deal wiv sharks 🦈 🥊👨🏻

[@onifrakimarq7663]

They should have searched in the mediterranen sea, in my humble opinion. There are great white sharks and they need help. Best regards Oni

[@MrMejIT]

Hmmm. Next the dude will suggest eating seals. Lol. Dubious predictions on mackerel stocks plus crustaceans. Macho stuff.

[@stephenmaskrey6527]

Sharks follow the food that's all they're interested in

[@FattyMatty426]

Haha, Chris Fischer - catching sharks for a living. Nominative determinism once again

[@nightwingthewolf2931]

Why not also highlight the fact that rich, business owners in Cornwall where against ocearch searing off the coast, as they believed it would be bad for their businesses. Once again, the rich ponces win . 🎉

[@Chris-xt7rs]

instant disappointment on that analysis: seals wiping out the bait fish stocks. Ive seen what gross damage commercial fishing does with nets.

[@chelazar8895]

But dont go to UK waters or Biskaya you will find nothing there ! Go to Sicillia, Malta or Adria! how the heck you go to search for great whites in the Med when you are in the Atlantic 1000 see miles away from the Med😂😂😂 i wait 20 years that someone comes to the Med and they go to the North Atlantik and cLl it Med😂😂😂😂you are such disapointing guys

[@emilyZA460]

I understand the need for research and data in order to ultimately better protect this species, however, I’m still not convinced the value of this is justified with this method. The amount of stress the shark experiences no matter how quick, is often lethal for the animal. It may appear fine as it returns to the water but if you look at the number of sharks who die not long after being caught (and then released obviously), it’s enough to warrant a pause and question whether our actions are indeed aligned with our stated goals here.

[@brojajacra]

They went to the wrong place. They should have gone to the med and the expedition was a total failure

[@crystalexarch217]

Interviewer clearly was very biased.

[@robwheeler7348]

Ocearch, maybe need to be rebranded to O'..bugger after this video.

[@jcas5929]

7:12 min that was a mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) filmed near Cabrera island (Baleares, 2018)

[@SoulJAHJustICE609]

Cant find regular great whites same way you cant find a Megalodon its just that the white tips are actually still ... around.

[@lutomson3496]

We dont have enough great white sharks in California overpopulation of sea lions and seals everywhere and no hunting season

[@wokenup5273]

Need to get permission to search in the Mediterranean.

[@darthrzr]

This

[@oliverhenn4219]

Yeah ok you square

[@robertalancasey1309]

Great work Being done here....