Shark migration from Hadera to Ashdod explained by Israeli experts
University of Haifa marine ecologists who tagged 62 sandbar and dusky sharks have described the way they commute from human-altered habitats along the Israeli coast
While Israeli drivers sit in traffic jams, Israeli sharks have a clear run for their 30-mile daily commute along the shores of Hadera and Ashdod, researchers have shown.
University of Haifa marine ecologists who tagged 62 sandbar and dusky sharks have described the way they migrate from human-altered habitats along the Israeli coast.
The scientists risked a nip to take fin-clip, muscle and blood samples to understand the sharks’ biology, as well as monitoring their movement through satellite tagging and acoustic telemetry.
Lab manager Eyal Bigal said it was surprising to have such a high number of sharks in the area, considering that the waters off the Israeli coast were less productive than almost any other marine environment, making it the desert of the oceans.
“This doesn’t happen anywhere else,” Bigal said. “There’s something about this water off Israel’s coast that attracts apex predators that are, in the case of sharks, already endangered in the Mediterranean Sea.
“Here, we see large numbers of sharks in human-altered habitats like power stations, gas platforms, and fish cages. They’re not anywhere in the open sea.”
Describing the sharks’ seasonal movements, he said, “For some of the sharks that we tagged in Hadera, on the same day they leave that city they go to the other hotspot in Ashdod, even if it’s quite far away.
“A few of our sharks disappeared from Hadera and on the same day they showed up at the fish cages in Ashdod, just a few hours later. Then they stayed there for a few months and moved back to Hadera, so they hopped between hotspots. And the same sharks are coming back every year.”
Researchers initially thought the sharks stayed in Hadera from December to March, but now know that they stay along Israel’s shores until June. Bigal said that although the numbers of sandbar and dusky sharks were up, for unknown reasons others such as blue sharks, mako sharks and thresher sharks were down.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
