Images of what looks to be a captured shark have been circulating online after a group of fishermen shared images of the dead shark on social media. In a post, one Maltese man said “it won’t be eating any more people” while others praised the fisherman for his impressive catch.

Local shark experts Sharklab Malta told Lovin Malta that catching and eating sharks in Malta is not unusual.

“It’s not uncommon for fishermen to capture sharks,” said Greg Nowell from Sharklab Malta. “Maltese people consume shark, if you go to many supermarkets you can find blue sharks in frozen steak form. We know of 35 shark species that historically travel through Maltese waters, and 13 of them have full protection.”

While experts were unable to confirm the species of shark from the images uploaded to social media, one of the fishermen involved in the catch told Lovin Malta it was a “murruna tal-fond“.

Sharklab Malta suspects the species could be a protected one

“Based only on the pictures we were sent which are not conclusive, in my opinion it could be odontaspis ferox – the Smalltooth Sandtiger Shark, which historically have been caught around Malta. This – if correct – is in fact a protected species,” he said.

A Smalltooth Sand Tiger Shark

Photo: Andy Murch

You can find a full list of sharks known to travel through Maltese waters by following this link.

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Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]