Three Maltese amateur fishermen freed a blue shark that was caught in a plastic ring used to pack water and soft drink bottles, 20 to 27 miles off Filfla.
The eight-foot shark was still able to swim, but the plastic was digging into its skin and would have probably caused a cut if the fish had remained trapped there a little longer.
Josef Farrugia, Marcel Zammit Marmarà and skipper Andrew Bonello spotted the plastic around the fish when they caught it. They then released it after removing the plastic, Nature Trust said yesterday.
The fishing trip, at the weekend, proved to be quite eventful for the men who spotted another smaller blue shark and a four-foot juvenile great white shark, a rare triple shark sighting on a single trip.
Blue sharks are not as dangerous as the more notorious members of their family, the great white, and are much shyer. In fact, blue sharks prefer deeper waters and rarely come close to shore.
The upper part of their body is deep blue, with a lighter-coloured side and a white underbelly. They grow up to 3.8 metres long and can weigh up to 200 kilograms. They feed primarily on squid, cuttlefish, octopus, lobster, shrimp and crab.
While praising the crew’s decision to free the shark, Nature Trust marine conservation officer Graziella Cavlan pointed out that plastic rings dumped at sea could be very harmful to sharks and other marine animals that could choke on the plastic.
“Should anyone come across any plastic item in the sea, they are urged to collect them, dispose of them on land and, whenever possible, even recycle them,” Ms Cavlan said.
Nature Trust president Vince Attard urged the public to dispose of any plastic rings properly, pointing out that they have even been known to cause turtles to lose a flipper.
Plastic and other garbage that ends up in the sea could also be washed ashore, polluting coastal habitats. In fact, it is estimated that more than 80 per cent of marine pollution comes from land-produced waste, including oil, fertiliser and toxic chemicals.
Nature Trust will take part in the European Shark Week between October 15 and 23, with a series of events aimed at highlighting the importance of sharks to marine ecosystems.
The number of sharks around the Maltese islands and in the Mediterranean dropped drastically over the years. “This is not good news for the sea’s ecosystems because sharks are at the top of the marine food pyramid and they control the natural balance of the ecosystem,” Nature Trust said.
A Europe-wide petition, accessible on Nature Trust’s Facebook group, will be central to the European Shark Alliance’s approach this year. The petition, which will be presented to ministers, calls for a complete ban on finning, which is the practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea, and for EU and national protection for endangered shark and ray species.