The swimming ban imposed on Russia’s Pacific coast after two freak shark attacks has been lifted.
This is despite the fact that the ten fishing vessels dispatched to hunt down the man-eater have yet to set eyes on the predator.
Local authorities have pointed out that increased patrols near popular beaches can virtually guarantee bathers’ safety.
Two shark attacks last week saw one victim lose both of his forearms trying to protect his wife from attack while in another incident a 16-year-old diver’s leg was lacerated.
Dangerous sharks do not usually go that far north in the Sea of Japan. Scientists believe the predator was a great white shark – a man-eater – and are trying to work out what it was doing here.
“This type of shark rarely comes to our waters. It’s a species that lives in the tropical and subtropical waters of the ocean, but with global warming they are now starting to move more to the north,” Alexander Sokolovsky, a leading expert at the Institute of Marine Biology, explained.
Out of roughly 360 species of sharks, just over 30 are known to be dangerous to humans. The rest are either too small or live in deep waters, but most experts agree that any shark over 1.2 meters and with sharp enough teeth can cause serious injuries, especially if there is food or blood in the water.