What started off as another shark release of sharks hatched from dead shark’s eggs, a project by Sharklab and the Malta National Aquarium that you can read about here, ended up in a bit of controversy today at Cirkewwa.
Whilst originally the release was meant to be carried out at the South Quay in Cirkewwa, which on normal days is not used by the Gozo Ferry, due to the wind the organisers shifted the release to the North Quay, as we noted in our events calendar yesterday.
Information from different persons who divinginfo.mt got in touch with, as well as news reports, indicate that a group of snorkelers and some divers (onlookers at the shark release) strayed into a restricted port zone where the Gozo Ferry moors, possibly due to a current.
In the interest of safety, Gozo Ferries suspended their services and delays of 1 and a half hours (with a spillover effect later) occurred for ferry passengers.
Authorities went on site to clear the area from snorkelers and divers but some delays were encountered until it was ensured that no snorkelers nor divers were in the water.
Even though the event resulted in a bit of time lost for more people than usual, the event resulted in 9 Nursehound sharks being released – which we hope will repopulate this vulnerable species. Still, a silver lining to the controversy created.
One Comment
Comments are closed.