On the morning of October 26, a citizen found a two-meter-long shark stranded on the beach near the white mud park on the west side of Huanwan Road and on the east bank of Jiaozhou Bay. With the assistance of the police of the Haikou Police Station of the Coast Police Detachment of the Qingdao Municipal Public Security Bureau and the enthusiastic boat people, the shark was successfully released into the deep sea. The discovery of sharks in Jiaozhou Bay is a new thing, why do sharks still take the initiative to "go ashore"? The reporter interviewed marine fish experts in our city.
The two-meter-long shark stranded in Jiaozhou Bay
On the morning of the 26th, the Haikou Police Station of the CoastAl Police Detachment of the Qingdao Municipal Public Security Bureau received an alarm from the masses that a shark ran aground on the beach near the white mud park on the west side of Huanwan Road and on the east bank of Jiaozhou Bay.
At about 8 a.m., the police rushed to the scene. The stranded shark is about two meters long, with a gray back and a white belly, with round eyes and sharp teeth. On closer inspection, the shark's right cheek and fins were punctured by rocks when stranded and were oozing blood. Still, the shark's gills are twitching.
The police told the police that when he came to catch the sea in the morning, it was the tide, he found that there were sharks stranded on the beach and found a small bucket, constantly poured water on the shark to keep it moist, and then dialed 110 to call the police. "The shark is still alive and we want to save it." Haikou police station police Ji Shangzuo and Song Lijie told reporters that they immediately contacted a fishing boat to rush.
The police and civilians joined forces to send it back to sea
After the boatman Zhang Baozhang arrived on the boat, a new problem emerged: the shark looked like it weighed hundreds of pounds, and it was difficult to carry it to the boat; in addition, the shark grinned widely, potentially hurting people. The police and boat people first found a rope to tie the shark's mouth, and then found two wooden sticks to reach under the shark's belly, and used the rope to fix the shark and carry it to the fishing boat.
"We also kept pouring water on the shark on the boat, afraid that it would not be able to hold up. Zhang Baozhang told reporters that in order to ensure that the shark can return to the deep sea and avoid accidents in the offshore sea, the fishing boat sailed to the deep sea area of 10 nautical miles offshore, and they put the shark back into the sea: the shark pounced in the sea a few times after launching, shook its tail fin a few times, swam slowly at first, and then plunged into the deep sea.
"This shark, just like in the movie, looks pretty scary. Zhang Baozhang said.
Shark-infested citizens have mixed feelings
After the news of the shark on the east coast of Jiaozhou Bay spread, the citizens followed the news link, and everyone's attitude was happy and worried: some people felt that this proved that Qingdao's marine environment was getting better and better, and even the sharks at the top of the marine food chain lived in Jiaozhou Bay; some people worried that sharks were fierce and fierce, which may threaten the safety of fishing boat people working at sea and citizens playing in the coastal waters.
What sharks are common in the waters around Qingdao? Experts from the Institute of Oceanography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that most of the sharks in the waters around Qingdao are mainly wrinkled lip sharks, and the adult wrinkled lip shark is about 1 meter long, which is a relatively mild shark and will not actively attack humans.
What shark was stranded this time? Will it attack people? Experts from the Institute of Oceanography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences both said that according to the photos, it is not easy to directly judge the shark species. Some experts have judged that it may be a mackerel shark based on the shape of the shark.
Several fishermen who have been working on the shores of Jiaozhou Bay for a long time told reporters that the shark is two meters long and has extremely strong vitality, which is enough to pose a threat to people.
"Only regular baths have anti-shark nets, and I hope that those citizens who often bathe in the wild baths in the summer will pay more attention." Zhang Baozhang sighed. The reporter informed several police stations of the coastal police detachment along the coast of Jiaozhou Bay, and the police said that they would notify the fishing boat people in the jurisdiction at the first time and let them pay attention to protection when they were producing.
Why are sharks stranded in Jiaozhou Bay?
The reporter checked public reports that the appearance of sharks in the waters around Qingdao is not new: in November 2010, fishermen caught a blue shark with a length of more than 4 meters and a weight of more than 500 kilograms in the waters near Chaolian Island and about 50 nautical miles from the coastline; in June 2013, someone found a shark carcass more than 1 meter long in the third beach; in August 2017, fishermen found a dead whale shark in the northeast waters of Xiaogong Island; in addition, The media also reported that there were premature news of people selling man-eating sharks in the market. However, sharks appear in Jiaozhou Bay are rare. Zhang Baozhang, who drove a boat to send sharks into the sea, also confirmed to reporters that he had been sailing in the waters of Jiaozhou Bay for 12 years, which was the first time he had seen sharks.
Why did sharks swim into Jiaozhou Bay, and how did they run aground? Experts from the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences told reporters that common sharks generally live in tropical and subtropical areas with high sea temperatures, and some sharks may swim north with the warm current of the Yellow Sea, and then the "course" shifts; in addition, sharks may also swim into Jiaozhou Bay with fish when foraging. As for the reason for the stranding of the shark, experts analyzed that it may be that it rushed too hard when feeding, and suddenly reached the shallow sea near the shore, and unfortunately encountered the low tide. It is also possible that the shark has a weak physique, is overly sensitive to sound, and loses its way for a while.
It is related to the improvement of the marine ecological environment
Experts from the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences told reporters that the appearance of sharks in Jiaozhou Bay has a great relationship with the improvement of the marine ecological environment.
"The marine environment is strictly protected, the seawater is not polluted, and a stable ecosystem and food chain will gradually form in the water, and for sharks, there will be bait." Experts said.
In March 2017, a finless porpoise appeared in the waters on the east side of the pier; in 2019, some citizens photographed sea lions resting on the reef off the coast of Jimo; in July 2020, a sailing athlete photographed a whale at the third beach; in July 2020, Mr. Han, a citizen, encountered a suspected small sea lion or seal on pier 149 at the bottom of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, one kilometer from Hongdao Pier. According to experts, all this shows that Qingdao's marine ecological environment is getting better and better. "Let's try not to disturb it." Experts said.
What should I do if I catch a shark? After reviewing the laws and regulations related to marine fisheries and consulting experts, the reporter learned that it should be released, and it is illegal to fish and sell without authorization.
Guanhai News/Qingdao Evening News reporter Liu Zhuoyi
Source: Qingdao Evening News