There are literally tens of thousands of blacktip sharks invading the waters off Palm Beach, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast this week.
Florida Atlantic University biological sciences professor Stephen Kajiura, who has been featured on “Shark Week,” took the video during his weekly blacktip shark migration surveys. The Palm Beach Post reports that Kajiura said there were very few sharks off Boynton Beach, though.
Kajiura told CBS12 that his aerial surveys cover the coastline from Miami to Jupiter Point. The video was shot at an altitude of 500 feet over the Atlantic coastline on Friday, February 12.
He said the sharks were so close to the shore a person could almost see them. “It’s so cool,” he told CBS12. “There are literally tens of thousands of sharks a stone’s throw away from our shoreline. You could throw a pebble and literally strike a shark. They are that close.”
Kajiura noted that “from Palm Beach to Singer Island, it was loaded–literally tens of thousands of sharks.” He said he saw very high concentrations of sharks off the Jupiter Inlet. Kajiura’s surveys will help in trying to find the answer to why the blacktips are drawn to Palm Beach every year.
Blacktip sharks are responsible for the majority of shark bites in Florida, although there has never been a fatal attack, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA.
The blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, gets its name from the black markings on the tips of its fins. This species usually grows to about 4.9 feet in length, but can grow to six feet. WTVR Richmond reports they feed on stingrays, squid and fish, and are known to follow fishing boats.
