Do sharks swim in the Black Sea? What sharks are found in the Black Sea? Predators in Crimea: possible attacks
Wondering if there are sharks in the Black Sea? And it’s not even about horror movies from childhood, but about the most common human concern for one’s life and health.
Are there sharks in the Black Sea?
The answer to such a question can instill fear in unknowing people, because this answer: "Yes", and this is a scientifically proven fact.
What predators live there?
You can breathe out - the sharks that live in the waters of the Black Sea are practically not dangerous for a person because of his small sizes and caution. During the day they hide in the depths and do not disturb vacationers with their presence.
When meeting fishermen, Black Sea sharks do not attack them, but go to the bottom.
In addition to sharks, there are other dangerous ones in the Black Sea:
- Jellyfish. Cornerot is dangerous; it can sting a person quite seriously with its poison;
- Sea ruff or scorpionfish. It has clawed teeth and poisonous glands located on its fins;
- Sea dragon. The seemingly harmless fish has poisonous glands next to the spine on the gill cover and on the first dorsal fin, which represents great danger for people;
- Stingray stingray. Its tail has a sharp spine that can grow up to 35 cm. The sting of this protective element is very painful.
Unfavorable living environment
The Black Sea is unfavorable for the life of large sharks that are dangerous to humans for a number of reasons. At a depth of approximately 60-70 meters, the Black Sea waters contain hydrogen sulfide, which is not suitable for breathing for most shark species.
And one more fact why there are no dangerous sharks in the Black Sea. Due to the lack of diversity and quantity of marine fauna, large predators simply nothing to eat in the Black Sea. The slightly salty waters of the Black Sea are not suitable for life for large sharks that got into it from.
Black Sea species of thunderstorms of the seas - photo
Only two shark species
Katran
Also called dogfish or black sea shark- the most famous predator of the Black Sea. main feature This shark has spines on its fins that are designed for protection. They are covered with poisonous mucus. There are known cases when a person could be injured by this shark while sorting the catch, being injured by poisonous spines.
Katrans do not like to swim alone and prefer to flock together in common schools.
The katran has a streamlined elongated shape, this allows you to develop higher speed. These sharks live at a depth of up to 40 meters, a little deeper in the summer, as they prefer water with a temperature of 14-15 degrees. An adult katran is no more than 160 cm in length and lives 25 years. It prefers to eat herring, horse mackerel, squid and even octopus. Avoids meeting people.
Feline
Cat shark is also known as scyllium. She has enough small size- on average 60-70 cm. The shark’s body is covered with spots, which makes it similar to representatives of the feline species. Hunts in shallow waters, feeds small fish and crustaceans. Due to its size, it is often included in the diet of its larger counterparts. It usually lives at a depth of 80-100 meters.
This nocturnal predator has excellent vision darkness. During the day he prefers to lead a sedentary lifestyle. This type of shark mainly lives along the coast Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea, from where it enters the Black Sea through the Bosphorus during the migration period.
Blue, spiny and dwarf sharks can be found in the waters of the Adriatic Sea. Where is it - read in.
Sea killers and cases of attacks on people
Most of the claims that there are dangerous sharks in the Black Sea are related to fishing stories. And they are among the most mysterious and dangerous species sharks in the World Ocean.
Goblin Shark
Differently goblin shark. Perhaps the most ancient and little-studied species of shark on the planet. The only deep sea shark. Scientists have come across the bones of a goblin shark that is 80 million years old.
This fish acquired such an ominous name for a reason. The goblin has a large sensitive protuberance on its nose, which does not add to its attractiveness, and a movable jaw that moves far forward when it sees prey. It prefers depths of more than 300 meters and never rises to the surface. There are enough rarely and was considered an extinct species for many years.
Compared to the Black Sea sharks, the goblin has an impressive size. The length of an adult is more than 3 meters.
Even the color of this shark remains a mystery; it is supposedly pink, but if the shark dies, it changes to brown.
The shark has interesting features:
- Electroreception. That is, it is able to perceive electrical impulses from the environment. This helps her get food in the dark depths of the sea;
- She has another ability deep sea fish- her eyes glow in the dark greenish light.
The goblin feeds on shellfish and fish. Shark lives in all oceans except for the Arctic, preferring warm and temperate waters. Most often found off the coast of Japan.
In December 2010, information appeared in the media that in the Black Sea in the area, fishermen was caught goblin shark. No one was hurt except the shark itself. Photos, video reports, interviews appeared. However, experts considered the information a “duck”. It is also not known how dangerous the goblin shark actually is.
White torpedo
Shark eater. The name speaks for itself. This is one of the largest predators on the planet. Its length reaches 7 meters. Despite its enormous size, the shark is quite intelligent and curious; it has a well-developed sense of smell, allowing it to smell prey several kilometers away.
The shape of a shark resembles torpedo, which allows it to reach speeds of up to 24 kilometers per hour. Can dive to depths of more than 1000 meters. White sharks live 60 years. Adults feed big fish, seals, sea lions, cephalopods, can attack other sharks and even whales.
The great white shark has gained a reputation as a killer due to numerous cases of attacks on humans. This shark lives in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
According to scientists, white sharks entering from Mediterranean Sea through the Bosphorus quite probably, but they will not swim far from the strait and the shores - changes in water temperature in winter and summer are not suitable for them.
White sharks are thermophilic - they live in waters heated from +12 to +24 degrees.
Here are some cases of white sharks appearing near the Black Sea from the world of news:
- V 2008 And 2009 years, in the area of the Dardanelles Strait, fishermen from Turkey caught baby white sharks in a net;
- in July 2011 year, Turkish fishermen caught a young great white shark in the same region;
- in September 2016 the same fishermen discovered a school of white sharks in the Bosphorus Strait off the coast.
Blue sea queen
This species of shark got its name because of its unusual gray-blue color. Smaller in size than white, adults reach 4 meters. This species lives in Indian and Pacific Oceans. Prefers moderate and calm waters.
The blue shark is an excellent hunter; it loves small fish; in coastal waters it can attack waterfowl. This fish does not distinguish colors, but has phenomenal sense of smell.
With a man near a blue shark difficult relationships. In Malaysia, the blue shark is commercial fish and it is from there that it ends up on the tables of gourmets different countries. But the predator herself does not remain in debt. Probability of attack especially large in the open ocean.
Less commonly, careless swimmers in warm lagoons can also be attacked by blue sharks.
On April 12, 2015, a blue shark attacked a photographer in south Florida, resulting in only a bitten forearm. According to the victim, he himself provoked shark in pursuit of the perfect shot.
And in this video you can find out a little more about one of the Black Sea sharks:
Hi guys!
Avenger is in touch.
All of a sudden, rumors began to circulate on the Internet about the possible appearance of white sharks in the Black Sea. I understand that now is the holiday season, the topic of shark attacks is relevant. But...
I became very interested in this topic - can large and dangerous sharks swim in our Black Sea region?
In addition, recently the entire Internet was full of headlines “Octopuses live in the Black Sea”: in Odessa, a rare creature for our region, an octopus, washed up on the shore.
It was discovered by a local journalist, who later wrote on Facebook:
Octopus! As a child, I read the book “Rare Animals of the Black Sea”; there were no octopuses there. There was even a white shark! It was written that it swims in once every three years, but there were no octopuses! Since when have we had them?
Well, after such an event, I was even more drawn to “look” for white sharks in the Black Sea :)
After all, all this time we were told that it was impossible to meet any octopuses or dangerous sharks here...
But they do meet!
It has long been no secret that white sharks have no obstacles to swimming in the Black Sea waters. The dispute can only arise in the question - Why would they swim here?
Really, why?
I began to look for information about the presence of dangerous sharks in our sea. But all the arguments that the “experts” give come down to some kind of unintelligible conclusions.
... it is difficult for sharks to get to the Black Sea... But isolated cases of large sharks entering were still recorded. In particular, one hammerhead shark was recorded near Romania.
It is quite possible for large predators to enter from the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosphorus, but they will not swim far from the strait and the Turkish shores - the water is “not tasty” for them.
There are no people living in the Black Sea big sharks, which do not bother people, although they hunt dolphins. Of course, much more can go there large predators from the Mediterranean Sea, but this happens extremely rarely, since there are few of them there...
That is, white sharks can still swim to us. But, according to scientists, they do not belong here, they are not welcome here, and as a conclusion, there should be no dangerous sharks in the Black Sea. And period!
These are the excuses.
And if you see a large shark, just don’t believe your eyes :)
I believe that this information may be deliberately hidden. After all, news about the appearance of dangerous sharks in the Black Sea could seriously undermine the entire tourism business in the region. And the authorities will have to work very hard to avoid panic, and in addition, the financial question will arise about measures to protect vacationers from attacks by predators.
Naturally, it is easier to hide information than to fuss and spend money on unknown things (although in Primorye some businessmen have made good returns on sharks).
In my post, I will not reveal conspiracies or blame anyone for withholding relevant information. But I just want to speculate about whether it is possible to meet a large one in the Black Sea white shark.
So, let's begin our investigation into the case of "White Shark in the Black Sea"
Misconception No. 1 - The white shark has nowhere to appear here
Here we repeat the following fact as a mantra: in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea there are about 47 species of sharks, 16 of them reach 3 meters in length, and 15 species are considered dangerous to humans. Checking the lists, we find cannibals already familiar to us: great white, brindle, bull, long-winged. Dangerous makos and hammerhead sharks also live here.
IN last years Only the lazy among fishermen do not talk about the active settlement of the Mediterranean Sea by white sharks.
In order not to lengthen the post, I will provide only a couple of links on the topic. If anyone is interested, check it out for yourself.
Thus, the only way sharks can get from the world ocean to the Black Sea is from the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosphorus Strait.
(there are also rumors that White death swims through some underwater sea tunnels)
Here is a map of the region:
And these are the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits:
As we see, white sharks can easily get into our sea, and there is nothing mystical here.
Misconception No. 2 - sharks don’t swim because the Black Sea is too cold for them
They told us about this 10 years ago, and they continue to insist now, despite active global warming, which is already producing results in the form of an active increase in average annual temperature waters of the Black Sea.
...the main reason why these man-eating sharks are not particularly interested in the Black Sea is the low (for sharks) water temperature.For example, for white sharks the optimal water temperature should be at least +18 degrees. The lower the temperature, the less mobile they are.
And I read this in the bourgeoisie. Already closer to reality:
Although white sharks have not been spotted before, they may appear in the Black Sea in the near future. The Black Sea water is too cold for sharks (but is rising faster every year).The exception is the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and South coast Crimea, protected by mountain ranges from cold winds from the North. A mild Mediterranean climate prevails here.
The temperature in winter almost never drops below 0 degrees, and in summer it is +23-25 degrees.
Let's look at a map showing water temperature in summer in the Black Sea:
Almost everywhere the water warms up above 20 degrees.
We open Wikipedia and find out: white sharks live in the open ocean and coastal waters of the continental and island shelves with a temperature of 12-24 degrees, usually closer to the surface of the water, preferring coastal areas with a temperate climate.
The question is: why is the Black Sea too cold for sharks?
In addition, for some reason everyone suddenly forgot that the white shark is a warm-blooded species of shark. This means that she is able to increase her body temperature by 10-12 degrees compared to the ambient temperature.
The misconception has been smashed to smithereens.
Misconception No. 3 - The Black Sea is full of hydrogen sulfide, so large sharks will not survive here
Let's figure it out.
A characteristic feature of the Black Sea is the absence of life at depths of more than 150-200 meters due to the saturation of the deep layers of water with hydrogen sulfide.
Due to upper layer The water in the sea is weakly mixed with the lower water, and oxygen rarely reaches the bottom of the sea. And where there is no oxygen, rotting begins. One of the results of rotting is the release of hydrogen sulfide.
Measurements have shown that in the center of the Black Sea the hydrogen sulfide zone approaches the surface by about 50 meters; closer to the shores, the depth of the zone increases to 300 meters.
That is, “experts”, manipulating the facts, lead us to the conclusion: since there is no life at depth, then all the sharks here will die.
So, are all our sharks deep-sea?
Let's go to Wikipedia again: white sharks usually live closer to the surface of the water, preferring coastal areas.
There is also interesting fact: white sharks can be observed mainly near the seabed (up to 250 meters deep) or near the surface, but in the middle layers these predators are almost never found.
It turns out that just off the coast of the Black Sea the probability of meeting a white shark is maximum. Our facts speak about this.
Map of the depths of the Black Sea:
Here's some food for thought: average level The Black Sea has risen by 12 cm over the past century; this change is masked by strong fluctuations in sea level (up to 20 cm throughout the year).
However, recent satellite altimetry data have shown a strong acceleration in the rise of the Black Sea level: up to 20 cm per decade. Many experts associate this phenomenon with melting polar ice as a result global warming.
It turns out that the comfort zone for white sharks is only growing here every year!
Misconception No. 4 - the salinity of the Black Sea water is too low for dangerous sharks to swim here
Interestingly, most people still believe that it is impossible to meet sharks in fresh water.
No matter how it is - white sharks can safely swim into rivers and lakes (we'll talk about this a little later).
It is also worth mentioning killer shark No. 1 - bull shark, which can generally live calmly in fresh water. Therefore, it can easily adapt to the waters of the Black Sea and live here in summer time of the year.
We are done with the analysis of the most common misconceptions. Now in plain text.
I agree that most sharks will not take root here, but why is no one seriously considering the possibility of dangerous sharks temporarily entering the Black Sea? Who knows what's on their mind?
In general, earlier in the Black Sea one could see hammerhead sharks and even fox sharks who swam here straight from the Mediterranean Sea.
Therefore, white sharks can easily swim here. This is especially true for young individuals - the instinct of self-preservation pushes them to stay in shallow water and away from their larger counterparts. Many cases have been recorded around the world in which inexperienced young animals (about 2-3 meters in size) attacked people swimming near the shore.
I don’t remember any deaths or bitten limbs on their account, but the “youth” leave serious injuries.
It is in search of temporary shelter that young white sharks swim into fresh lakes and rivers. This happens especially often in Australia. This includes attacks on unsuspecting vacationers.
Well, it’s a sin for the children of the White Death to swim into the Black Sea. This is clearly demonstrated by cases of captures of young predators near the straits between the continents indicated above on the map.
Here's a video of Turkish fishermen catching a juvenile great white shark near the Dardanelles in July 2011.
Earlier, in 2008 and 2009, fishermen caught baby white sharks in nets here as well. There is information that great white sharks are sometimes found in the Sea of Marmara, which connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean (via the Aegean).
Haven't you heard about this? Nobody told you about this?
Surely! Who will tell you that white sharks are rushing to popular resorts? All this is kept silent so as not to cause unnecessary panic and scare away tourists.
And the fishermen are ridiculed - they say, they are drunken stories, they are seasick, the sun is hot, they are working too hard, and they are imagining sharks.
I can only agree with the argument that the reasons why large sharks are not interested in the Black Sea waters are the insufficient food supply.
But there are nuances here too.
Firstly, sharks are not psychics; they cannot foresee a “weak kitchen”.
Secondly, where is it good now? Impoverishment food base hit all the sharks in the world's oceans. And they will look for options with the least competition, where they can at least somehow make money.
Thirdly, young white sharks feed mainly on small fish (again, Wikipedia), so they may well stay off the coast of the Black Sea.
Why along the coast?
Let's look at the map of migration routes and spawning of fish resources of the Black Sea:
FOODS FOR CONSIDERATION
Here interesting information about blue sharks, relatives of white ones:
Due to the effects of global warming, in 10 years blue sharks will be found in the coastal waters of Crimea. This was stated by marine biologist from Kerch Evgeny Gubanov.
The water in the Black and Marmara seas is gradually warming, and blue sharks can swim into them from the Mediterranean in pursuit of food.If warming continues at the same rate as now, in 10 years blue sharks will be found in the coastal waters of Crimea and the Caucasus.
Theoretically, they are not dangerous, but if they are hungry, they can attack a person.
Gubanov has been studying sharks for 40 years, including working in Sharm el-Sheikh, when in 2010 there was a series of bloody attacks on tourists off the coast of the Red Sea.
According to him, the reason for everything is global warming.
Sharks can freely pass through the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, the Bosphorus Strait, and end up on our shores.In 2010, Turkish fishermen caught three great blue sharks in the Bosphorus Strait, near Istanbul. And this is a consequence of global warming, the oceanographer is sure.
And all this against the backdrop of the fact that 2015 was a record year for the number of shark attacks on humans.
I will not describe the case of the huge goblin shark discovered in the Black Sea. This was talked about a lot on all the news.
It will be important to mention that in the Black Sea, the spiny katran shark lives everywhere and for a long time, as well as the cat shark, which swims from the Mediterranean Sea.
Killer shark attacks on people in the Black Sea
On the Internet I found only one described case of an attack by an unknown monster. In terms of the time of attack (evening) and the nature of the attack, it is very similar to a white shark.
The murder occurred in the resort village of Ordzhonikidze, Crimea, in August 2011.
According to numerous eyewitnesses, sea monster attacked a young woman literally a few tens of meters from the shore.
The tragedy took place around 9 pm, when it was already dark outside, but there were still people on the beach. Two girls decided to swim and swam near the shore. Suddenly one of them sank like a stone.
The second one managed to grab her friend by the hair and yank her out. By some miracle, she prevented the predator from drowning its prey.
In a state of shock, the girls got out of the water. A large piece of the victim's abdomen and viscera near the spleen was torn out of the victim's body.
The victim (a tourist from Kharkov) was taken unconscious to the first city hospital in Feodosia. A few hours later, the girl died from serious injuries.
The attack was attributed to mythical Karadag monster snake, living in the Black Sea!
This is understandable; stories with a snake will only contribute to the influx of tourists, while any information about large sharks will seriously harm this.
Well, our little investigation has come to an end. As we found out, you shouldn’t take any holiday lightly, even on the Black Sea, and ignore safety information. Shark attacks in Primorye on people with severed limbs are a clear confirmation of this.
Forewarned is forearmed!
Moreover, it is not known what to expect from the climate and sharks in the next decade.
I hope the information from of this post was not only interesting to you, but also got you interested in sharks. After all, sharks are the most dangerous and oldest predators on our planet!
All that remains is to sort out the question: where in the Black Sea is the probability of meeting a white shark the highest?
Let's look again at all the cards that I posted above and remember all the information in the article.
Therefore, if white sharks begin to appear more actively in the Black Sea, then first of all they will visit the coasts where:
Most heat;
- small depth;
- availability of fish resources;
- crowds of people.
The following risk zones best correspond to these conditions: South part Crimea and western shores Krasnodar region, where the most famous Russian resorts are located.
If you would like to discuss the topic of this post, comment below. I will study your arguments with interest. But I just ask you to state the facts.
Victims of modern cinema are often all too aware of the dangers lurking in environment. They also know that unwary swimmers easily become victims of terrible shark jaws. Knowledge of geography is enough to understand that most heartbreaking maritime tragedies occur on the shores of the Pacific atolls, but not all. And they ask the burning question: are there sharks in the Black Sea, are they found there and is it safe in terms of jaws to vacation at the resorts of Crimea? Let's try to figure it out.
Picky ogres
If you answer the question about Black Sea sharks unequivocally, the answer is simple - they exist. But the real situation is more complicated. "Shark" - general concept, a group of several hundred species. All of them are predatory, but very different in size, habitat, behavior and food preferences. They live in all seas and oceans, but are very demanding on environmental conditions (temperature and salinity level of water, quantity and variety of food, bottom topography). Varieties common in some regions are not found in others.
From the shark's point of view, the main features of the Black Sea are low salinity, intense annoying shipping, insufficient numbers of fish and animals, low temperature (it is warm in comparison with the White Sea, but not in comparison with the Red Sea). It is also important that it is inconvenient to get there from other regions: the Black Sea straits clogged with ships are not the best place for a shark walk. That is why a wide variety of predators off the coast of Crimea is excluded in principle.
It is also interesting that sharks do not consider people as a priority food for an objective reason - they are alien to water environment. Predators eat swimmers when there is no more suitable prey nearby and only on the condition that their size resembles their usual food. As a rule, divers confuse sharks with seals. Are there many species in the Black Sea comparable in appearance to humans? Are there many seals and sea lions in it?
Types of sharks that are found in the Black Sea
But still, the answer to the question of whether sharks are found in the Black Sea is positive. They live in it. They are quite numerous, feed on fish, live in schools, their average size is slightly more than 1 m, two-meter individuals are very rare. It is clear that such individuals are not able to kill a person.
Externally, the Katran shark looks like a smaller copy of its dangerous cousins - white and blue. Because of this, it is sometimes used when filming “playing” predators (filming with magnification). 
The “finest hour” of the katrans is the scene of the shark attack on Guttiere in .
Katrans will not be able to seriously harm human health. But their skin and fins have sharp, poisonous spines that can cause painful injuries. They are also capable of biting. Such injuries are not life-threatening, but they will cause trouble. But such accidents often happen to fishermen who catch sharks or catch a katran by accident. They will not attack swimmers on beaches.
Katran is the only shark type that permanently lives in the Black Sea. What other representatives of the group are found here? The traditional “guest” is the catshark, or scylium. It swims from the Mediterranean Sea through the straits in significant quantities, is small - up to 1 m long, feeds on mollusks and various bottom invertebrates. For her, a person is not prey, but a dangerous enemy.
Predators in Crimea: possible attacks
But sometimes, and with enviable regularity, sensations appear in dubious media: 
A man-eating shark swam into the Black Sea and attacked swimmers on such and such a boat.
Before you get scared by such news, it is better to turn to statistics and biological data. White, blue or tiger sharks will not go to the Black Sea - it is “lightly salted” for them. Even if we assume that one of these, having lost orientation in space, made its way through the straits, it must be admitted that it will quickly turn back when faced with water unsuitable for normal life.
The statistics are inexorable: shark attacks on people off the coast of Taurida have not been recorded at all. Never. The study of written sources for 500 years has not yielded a single convincing fact. Dangerous predators not found. Dot!
Sharks are not only dangerous, but also tasty
Of course, cases of people meeting katran are not uncommon. They also occur among swimmers or walkers - the fish prefer to stay near the bottom, but occasionally rise to the surface. 
But much more often, holidaymakers become acquainted with Katranas or Scyliums when the latter already smell appetizingly smoky.
Yes, they are delicious! And the fishermen of Taurida regularly catch scyliums and katrans. They sell them to restaurants and prepare smoked “balyki” from sharks, which tastes like a similar product made from sturgeon. The delicacy is constantly found among the tempting offers of Crimean beach food peddlers. If you order smoked katran “to order,” then there will be no risk of running into a stale product.
For a small fee, they can arrange a demonstration shark hunting session with a master class for tourists. Yes, this is quite a popular entertainment among vacationers who, in principle, are fanatics of fishing rods.
It turns out interesting game words For most visitors, the dilemma “are there sharks in the Black Sea” turns into the problem “when and how much will it cost to eat them?” As a result, these Black Sea inhabitants have more reason to fear tourists than those who fear them.
The Black Sea, according to scientists, was formed from a fresh lake that existed eight thousand years ago in its place. The freshwater fauna that lived here before died out due to increased salinity of the water, as a result of which the lower layers of the sea (below two hundred meters) are extremely saturated with hydrogen sulfide, which is a product of its decomposition.
Therefore, there are significantly fewer animal species living in the Black Sea than in the Mediterranean. Sharks are found in the Black Sea, but there are relatively few of them, and only one species. This is a dogfish shark.
a brief description of
The dogfish shark has a streamlined shape characteristic of all sharks. Her diet includes exclusively fish. The Black Sea shark is small in size: from a meter to two or a little more, and its body weight is no more than twenty-five kilograms. Although in equatorial waters sharks of this size (albeit of other species) are not at all averse to snacking on a member of the homo sapiens family, the katran is famous for its peacefulness. Nowhere in the world (and katran sharks are widespread almost everywhere, even in Australia) has not a single case of a katran shark attacking a person been recorded. Rather, a careless swimmer may injure himself on the hard fins or skin of this predator. Katranas are viviparous, and “in one sitting” the female can bring up to thirty fry.
Sharks in the Black Sea as an object of culinary ambition
If Katrans do not eat people, then people love to feast on the meat of this predator. The meat is used to make canned food or balyk, and the fins are used to cook very tasty soup. Shark entrails have also been used.
From the liver, which weighs up to a third (!) of the total body weight, fat is produced, which contains a high content of vitamins A and E. Tails and heads are used to prepare glue.
Still, they must be handled with care.
It is not the teeth that you should be afraid of, but the thorns of the katran. The spines located on the back are covered with poisonous mucus, and if pricked, they can cause a very painful swelling that heals very slowly. However, the usual beach holidaymaker this is unlikely to happen. Rather, those who engage in extreme diving should be wary, and dangerous animals of the sea are his usual partners for posing in front of the camera. Or for amateur fishermen who decided to catch an exotic delicacy.
Prospects for katran
Sharks appeared in the Black Sea seven and a half to eight thousand years ago, when the ancient freshwater lake, after the breakthrough of the Bosphorus Isthmus, connected with the world ocean. Sometimes (extremely rarely) sharks of other species swim here, but they are rather an exception, a phenomenon not typical for the Black Sea. Thus, katrans remain the top link of the food chain in the Black Sea ecosystem. This situation has existed for many thousands of years, and ecologists see no reason for it to change. Rather, marine life (and not just sharks) should be wary of sea pollution due to increased human activity. The Black Sea is perhaps the dirtiest in the world, since its coast has been densely populated since ancient times, and polluted waters from the depths of Europe flow into the sea through rivers. Environmentalists note that in the last quarter of the last century, the population of dolphins and katrans in the Black Sea decreased several times. And it is possible that in the future a conversation on the topic of “sharks in the Black Sea” will be possible only on the pages of zoology textbooks.
Today, in light of recent events in the world, this is a fairly relevant article.
Are there sharks in the Black Sea?
IN Lately Readers of this blog, and users of the World Wide Web in general, often ask: are there sharks in the black sea? After all, the Black Sea is Crimea, Turkey, and the Caucasus.
Let's answer this question honestly: Sharks in the black sea found.
However, these are not creatures dangerous to people. At least for those who do not rush at them themselves. :)
So, predators of the Black Sea:
The main shark of the Black Sea is the Katran (or Spiny Shark), also called the Sea Dog.
- This is a shark that is not dangerous to humans, although it is worth noting that for fish it is a nightmare! A sea dog is a predator that attacks fish, even if it is full. Its size is about a meter, this shark lives in the Black Sea, where it is colder and deeper, it almost does not come to the shore. It’s just dangerous to pick it up - there are poisonous spines on its fins, which is why it was called Spiny. But we don’t think that anyone other than fishermen will want to touch it with their hands. :)
The following shark species have appeared in the Black Sea several times:
- Cat - small spotted shark. It was reported that she once swam into the Black Sea, but even if she had not been caught, this shark would not have been able to live here. One of the reasons is the high concentration of salt in the water.
- Hammerhead shark - it is not known for certain whether it actually swam.
- Swordfish is the same as the previous one.
So rest assured - sharks in the Black Sea will not overtake you, although they live in it.
