Man-eating white sharks sighted off Bataan

LIMAY, Bataan — Fisheries experts and villagers here are baffled by the sightings of man-eating white sharks in the waters of this coastal town.

For a while, fishermen here and in neighboring Orion have refrained from venturing off the coast for fear that they might suffer the fate of a resident of Barangay Luz whose entire arm was snapped off by a white shark a few weeks ago.

"It was the first reported sighting of white sharks in the area," said fisheries enforcement officer Danny Abrera.

White sharks, scientifically known as carchorodon carcharias, have been called "man-eaters" in the United States and "white death" in Australia.

White sharks have also been sighted in the waters of Palawan and Mindanao.

Abrera said reported sightings of the marine predators have caused panic among local fishermen, particularly dynamite users who have to retrieve their catch under water after the blast.

But he said the panic has dissipated following news that a white shark, a pregnant female about six meters long, was killed late last month.

"But they reported seeing at least two (white sharks). The local folk presume that the smaller one is male, although they also reported seeing other smaller white sharks," Abrera said.