Recent news involving shark incidents or sightings may appear to be more frequent. Experts, however, do not attribute this to an increase in animals in the waters of the Brazilian coast – but to the greater number of bathers on the beaches after the relaxation of restrictions imposed in the pandemic.
With the flexibilities, these places became more crowded. For experts, the more people at sea, the greater the likelihood of incidents involving sharks. Likewise, drownings, rock cuts, jellyfish accidents and other problems increase.
Sharks are all over the Brazilian coast, scientists say. Due to their characteristics, they explore the environment in which they live and are important for the balance of marine life.
Contrary to what many people may think, it is normal for sharks to swim close to the sand strip and, consequently, to bathers. This is especially possible if there are schools of other fish in the area and if the animals are hunting.
“We are not used to the idea that huge and potentially dangerous sharks are close to human beings”, says Ronaldo Francini Filho, a professor at the Center for Marine Biology at USP. That’s why, he says, bathers need to be careful.
Species like the tiger, flathead and white are some of the most aggressive in the world. The first two have more incidents.
On the southeastern coast of the country, there are smaller species that do not pose a risk to humans, in addition to the tiger and the flathead. The white shark is common in cold waters and, therefore, there are few records of its passage on Brazilian beaches.
On the 28th of January, a tiger shark with about 2.5 meters in length and approximately 200 kilos, as estimated by experts, was seen in Saquarema, in the Lagos region of Rio de Janeiro, swimming near the strip of sand and of visitors.
Reports say that the animal would have been sighted on the beaches of Boqueirão, Vila, Barrinha and Itaúna. There were no incidents.
The Argonauta Institute for Coastal and Marine Conservation, an Oscip (Civil Society Organization of Public Interest) that aims to conserve the environment, especially coastal and marine ecosystems, confirmed to the report the appearance of a shark in Ubatuba (the 226 km from SP), on January 17th and 19th, on Vermelha do Sul and Ubatumirim beaches.
On the 21st of the same month, a dolphin shark (lamna nasus) turned up dead on Ubatumirim beach.
It was a female of 2.06 meters and 60 kilos. The species has a mainly oceanic distribution and is rarely seen in coastal areas of the southeastern coast of Brazil. They are predators at the top of the food chain, very important for the balance of the marine ecosystem, according to the institute.
Oceanographer Hugo Gallo Neto, president of the Argonauta Institute, does not rule out the possibility that the dead animal is the same as the other apparitions in the region.
In November 2021, Ubatuba recorded two shark attacks in less than 15 days — on day 3 at Praia do Lambert and 11 days later at Praia Grande.
Piedade beach, in Jaboatão dos Guararapes (PE), was also the scene of two incidents in 2021 — one of them with death.
The most recent attack that drew attention in Brazil took place on January 28, on Sueste beach, in Fernando de Noronha (PE). An eight-year-old girl had her leg amputated. The site was closed indefinitely.
“Sueste beach is a shallow bay with a little darker water, so the tourist gets close to the shark without realizing it, makes a sudden movement and ends up suffering the aggression because it touches the animal”, explains Francini Filho.
On the beach of Boa Viagem, in Recife, incidents are common. Jonas Rodrigues, fishing engineer and shark researcher at UFRP (Federal Rural University of Pernambuco), explains that the place is a mating area for larger sharks and aggressive species.
“This increases the animals’ testosterone levels and they can become a little more aggressive at certain times and periods,” he says.
Studies carried out at UFRP attribute the presence of sharks on the coast of Pernambuco, among other factors, to environmental changes caused by the construction of the port of Suape, in Cabo de Santo Agostinho. A deep channel that follows the contour of the coast facilitates the movement of animals close to the beaches.
“There are also records of a slaughterhouse, an area where cattle were slaughtered and the blood went to the river near the beach, in Boa Viagem. So there are some classic examples of extreme coastal alteration. Some works speculate that there was a shark nursery , where females pull over to give birth at specific times of the year in more coastal areas”, says Francini Filho.
Despite some recent cases of attacks on Brazilian beaches, the sharp-toothed giants who deliberately persecute bathers only exist in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 creation Tubarão, and in other films that, to this day, have a direction similar to the classic.
In summary, experts say, bathing in the sea is safe, as long as local rules are respected.
“Sharks are sensitive, vulnerable animals that need to be respected. They are not the killing machine painted by the cinema”, summarizes Rodrigues.
“These are animals that are increasingly under pressure from the degradation of environments, fishing pressure and the characteristics of their biology. They have late sexual maturation, slow growth and long life. It is important that people understand the degree of threat of extinction of these animals, know their importance in the environment and learn to respect and protect them”, he adds.
Species such as nurse shark and lemon shark, for example, are on the list of endangered animals, so their fishing is prohibited.
“The animals are in the sea and have always been there. Finding an animal like this is a privilege, because you will be seeing an incredible and wonderful animal”, says Francini Filho.
“I think we have to be aware of particular situations. Places where attacks happen more frequently, as is the case of Boa Viagem or Sueste beach, in Fernando de Noronha, if you see a shark, do not enter the water. The ideal is to be cautious”, he concludes.
Source: Folha
