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17th Jul 2018

Sharks Could Start Appearing Irish Waters Due To Climate Change

Jen

Well, this is mildly terrifying.

Deadly Great Whites, Blacktips and Hammerhead sharks could be in Irish waters by 2048, new research has revealed.

The temperatures will only have to rise by less than 1° for them to start using our waters as hunting grounds.

According to theIrish Sun, the shark’s ideal prey already live off our coasts, so all that is needed is slightly warmer temperatures.

Blacktip

Shark expert, Dr. Ken Collins, “You get Great Whites off the coast of South Africa where the water is colder than here and I see no reason why we should not have them in our waters.

”There are Great Whites in the Med, which isn’t too far away and so I see no reason why they shouldn’t be spotted here.”

For those of you who don’t know, a Great White shark was featured in Jaws.

Yeah….

However, it’s more likely the Mediterranean sharks like hammerheads and Blacktips will show up first.

Blacktips are responsible for 16% of shark attacks in Florida.

The research was commissioned by National Geographic’s series called Sharkfest, which started last night and runs until Sunday.

Dr. Collins said it was more than likely they would appear in Cork and Wexford because of their high seal population.

He said: “Seals are like hamburgers to sharks- fat, juicy, and meaty.”

Experts say the best defence if attacked by a shark is to punch it in the nose or jab it in the eye.

Hammerhead

Happy jabbing / punching!

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