BB FANS

A species of shark thought to be to blame for hundreds of attacks on humans has been reported off the coast of Cornwall.

---------------

One sighting of an oceanic whitetip shark was made by a fisherman who said his wooden boat was rammed as he fished for mackerel.

The harbour master's office in St Ives confirmed that a second person on a separate boat had also reported seeing one of the sharks a mile off shore.

The species is blamed for many attacks on humans and brought terror to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh last year when a 'rogue' whitetip reportedly killed a German woman.

A spokesman for the harbour master in St Ives said they were not "100%" sure if the sharks spotted were oceanic whitetips and stressed that people should not blow the reports "out of all proportion".

The pelagic - or ocean-going - species is usually found far further south in deeper waters away from the coast, with Portugal being the usual northern-most reach of its habitat.

Skynews

How a Cornish shark 'sighting' prompted a media feeding frenzy

Just when you thought it was safe to go to St Ives … oceanic whitetip shark reportedly seen off the Cornish coast

A dark fin broke the surface of the green-blue water in St Ives harbour. It navigated the bobbing boats before turning and heading back out to sea. On the beach of the Cornish resort – panic.

"They were rattling the door shouting that there was a huge shark," said the harbourmaster Steve Bassett. "Typical – we haven't had one in here for three years and it chooses this week to swim in."

The specimen was huge – but harmless. And the timing of the basking shark's appearance could not have been better (or worse, depending on your point of view). All week, the talk here has been of a report that an oceanic whitetip, a rarer and potentially more dangerous shark, was spotted a mile off the harbour entrance.

Summer shark season – Cornish-style – duly began. Reporters descended on a town beset by fears that "Jaws" was lurking just off the coast. Bounty hunters were said to be heading south-west in search of the "beast". And tourist bosses have lapped it all up, enjoying the sort of publicity they would have had to spend tens of thousands of pounds to generate.

Bassett said he couldn't believe some of the things that had been written. "On the other hand, they do say that all publicity is good publicity. It's probably positive for the town."

Guardian