Transatlantic great white shark ‘may be pregnant’
By Paul RinconScience editor, BBC News website
Lydia was satellite-tagged off the coast of Florida last year, allowing scientists to track her movementsRelated Stories
The first great white shark seen to cross from one side of the Atlantic to the other may be pregnant, says the head of the expedition tracking her.
At the weekend, the satellite-tagged fish, called Lydia, crossed the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which marks a rough boundary line between east and west.
She has now turned towards the UK, but it is unclear where she will go next.
Chris Fischer told the BBC he thought she was pregnant and heading for birthing grounds in the Mediterranean.
Mr Fischer, who is expedition leader and founding chairman of the Ocearch shark tagging venture, said that if Lydia continued on to Europe or Africa, she was likely to become “more coastal”.
“Start Quote
If we’re going to look after some of these magnificent apex predators – the lions of the oceans – we’re all going to have to work together. No one country can do it”
Chris Fischer Founding chairman, Ocearch
He told BBC News: “I certainly think that it’s possible for Lydia to make it to the UK.” But he said that he could not know if that was where she was heading.
Mr Fischer said there had been sightings of great white sharks in UK waters before, but added: “I think these were anecdotal versus a documented presence. So hopefully we’ll be able to help with that.”
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26514827
