A shark swam through a regatta in Palma Bay, passing within inches of sailors competing in the race.
Nobody was hurt. The footage, filmed by sailor Jacopo Renna, shows the creature gliding calmly between boats while competitors watched it pass.
Experts believe the shark belongs to the Lamnidae family, which includes great whites, makos and porbeagles.
They say its presence in the Mediterranean, while alarming to anyone in the water at the time, is something to celebrate.
What was it?
Identifying the species from video alone is difficult, but researchers have narrowed it down.
Shark expert Juan Poyatos suggested it was a mako. Others said it could be a great white or porbeagle.
Aniol Esteban, director of the Marilles Foundation, said: “It is very difficult to identify with certainty, but everything points to it being from the family Lamnidae.”
Recent research has confirmed rare sightings of great white sharks in Spanish Mediterranean waters, so the possibility is not as far-fetched as it might sound.
A healthy sea has sharks in it
Esteban used the sighting to make a broader point about the state of the Mediterranean.
“All these species have suffered a sharp decline in the Mediterranean and some are on the brink of extinction, so their presence is always good news, even if not everyone sees it that way,” he said.
“A sea with sharks is a healthy sea. And right now, the Mediterranean and the Balearic Sea have lost the vast majority of them.”
José Carlos Báez, a researcher at the Spanish Oceanographic Institute, echoed the sentiment.
“Large marine predators play a key role in the balance of the ocean. As highly migratory species, they connect different regions and contribute to the good health of the marine environment.”
Why it matters
Shark content goes viral because fear is one of the most reliable engagement drivers online.
A large predator swimming past humans in a holiday destination combines two things people cannot stop watching: danger and proximity.
But the story underneath the footage is the opposite of what the headline suggests. The Mediterranean has lost most of its large sharks.
Populations have declined sharply. Some species are near extinction in the region.
A shark turning up during a regatta in Majorca is not a sign that the water is dangerous.
It is a sign that something is still alive in an ecosystem that has been steadily emptied.
The sailors were fine. The shark moved on. The Mediterranean, for one afternoon at least, looked a little more like it is supposed to.
