Gran Canaria beaches closed after hammerhead shark swims near coast

Hammerhead shark

Beaches in Gran Canaria were closed over the weekend after a hammerhead shark swam up to the shoreline and sent bathers fleeing.

The shark, which appeared to be around 7ft long, was filmed on Saturday rapidly approaching the sandy beach of La Melenara, its fin poking above the surface of the water.

Holidaymakers scrambed out the sea after a man spotted the shark circling in the water for a second time in two days - JAM PRESS

As it gets closer it circles and thrashes around the water, alarming bathers who rush to the shore and get out.

However no one was hurt and the shark swiftly retreated to deeper waters, suggesting it had been pursuing a fish or other prey.

Police said that a drone sighting confirmed that in both instances it was a hammerhead shark - A/NPZ/SM

The hammerhead is one of several shark species that live in waters around Gran Canaria, but it rarely comes close to the shore.

While it is not known for being aggressive to humans, the sharks, able to grow up to 20ft, can be a formidable sight.

Local police and lifeguards on Gran Canaria were taking no chances, urging all bathers to get out of the water and closed the beach for the rest of Saturday.

Bathers were urged to get out of the water as the shark approached - Jam Press

The closure was extended to Sunday along with the closure of nearby Salinetas beach after police drones caught the shark again lurking near the coast, according to the local newspaper La Provincia.

The police, the civil protection authority and the company that provides lifesaving services on Telde’s coastline have said they are working to prevent the shark from approaching the coast again by deploying drones and jet ski patrols.

According to local media, the beaches in the area just north of Gran Canaria’s airport were all set to reopen on Monday.

Hammerheads are usually found in warm waters like Gran Canaria’s but they’ve also been found to migrate to cooler waters in the summer. In 2019 one was spotted off British waters for the first ever time.

Dr Paul Conolly, director of fisheries and ecosystems services at the Marine Institute, said the UK sighting “shows the importance of our fishery surveys to monitor our marine environment, and to observe changes in our oceans and marine ecosystems”.

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