A female blue shark was ejected from the sea with six pups • Watch

A leek was washed ashore near Atlit, while it was still alive

The inspector of the marine unit of the Nature and Parks Authority, Rotem Sde, was called following a report of a female blue shark that was ejected from the sea while she was still alive in the Atlit beach area.

The female shark and the cubs (Photo: Rotem Sde RTG) | Watch

Rotem Sde inspector of the naval unit:

When I got to her I saw that she was still alive with signs of fishing attempts that apparently led to her death, and next to her was a litter of six young individuals. After a short time she died and was transferred to investigate the circumstances of death. It is unfortunate to see a shark die and more with young ones, especially when there are almost no sightings of this type of shark in the country.

Eyal Beagle, director of the Predator Laboratory at the Maurice Kahn Marine Research Station, Haifa University:
"This is a female blue shark that was released with a litter of six young, a process that may happen during spawning as part of the survival factor. This is an adult individual that is rarely seen in Israel, but is more common in the Mediterranean Sea. A species that lives in the deep sea. The pregnancy lasts about a year. The leech is taken for dissection to be performed in the laboratory to determine the circumstances of death".

The Nature and Parks Authority stated that these female sharks are larger than the males and can reach a size of over three meters. They feed mainly on squids and octopuses, prefer relatively cold water and migrate long distances. Sharks of this type are harvested in large quantities, mainly for the purpose of making soup from their fins. This species may attack humans in rare cases.