Malta's waters appeared to be infested with sharks lately but they were merely setting the bloody scene for a Discovery Channel docu-drama.

Jaws 1916 - Savage Shore was filmed over five days at Għajn Tuffieħa, the water tank of the Mediterranean Film Studios in Rinella and at St George's Bay.

Swimmers must have been in for an initial shock - and some extra, unexpected entertainment, when they discovered that the shark and the gnawed bodies, sprawled on the sand and smeared in stage blood, were the stuff of fiction and that they could just watch the scene unfold without any fear.

The docu-drama involved 50 local crew and about 30 cast and extras - and one mechanical shark.

It deals with the shark attacks off the coast of New Jersey in the early 1900s, said production manager Simon Sansone, of Small Island Films, which serviced the project locally.

It is said the blood-curdling book and film Jaws was based on these specific attacks.

The English production company Brook Lapping Productions chose Malta due to the good weather and the water tank, Mr Sansone explained.

Parts of the docu-drama were also shot in the UK.

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