(Hai Fe) - Following a report by a citizen to the Nature and Parks Authority about a fin shark that washed up dead on the beach in Hadera, the authority's inspectors came to collect the carcass for dissection at the National Center for the Rescue of Trawled Sea Turtles.
Ilya Baskin, inspector of the marine unit, says: "A passer-by noticed the carcass of the shark and reported it to the hotline of the Nature and Parks Authority." The shark, which is one and a half meters long and weighs about 60 kg, was examined at the rescue center in order to identify the cause of death, as part of an ongoing study on the shark population in the area.
the results of the autopsy
Dr. Danny Morik from the University of Haifa and Dr. Yaniv Levy, director of the rescue center, led the autopsy. Unlike a previous case of a pregnant female shark with fishing hooks in her stomach, here no fishing hooks were found in her stomach. However, a small fishing hook and a torn fishing line were found in the mouth.
According to Dr. Levy: "No clear signs were identified that the shark died from a fishing strike, but a typical hole for a fishing hook was discovered on the side of the mouth." Levy points out that by-products from fishing in Israel endanger protected species, including sharks and sea turtles, which are often found severely injured.
The sharks in the Hadera area
Dr. Aviad Shainin describes the behavior of the sharks in Hadera: "Two prominent species gather in the area - gray sharks and male fin sharks, which appear mainly in winter. To date, the station's researchers have tagged 40 finners, and a total of 118 sharks, most of them females of the sparrowhawk species."
The meaning of the study
Dr. Adi Barash from the Nature Museum in Tel Aviv indicates a drop of over 90% in the amount of coastal sharks in the Mediterranean Sea. In Israel, thanks to the ban on shark fishing, finners are seen throughout the year, especially in winter. Dr. Morik added that the samples taken will be sent for laboratory tests to detect possible disease causes.
The Nature and Parks Authority will continue monitoring and researching the shark population, with the aim of ensuring their preservation in the Mediterranean Sea.
Apparently he ate Haifa and choked on the poison.