Shark sighted off Majorca, first great white there in 40 years

For the first time in more than 40 years, a great white shark has been recorded swimming off the Spanish Mediterranean island of Majorca.

A wildlife conservation group captured footage of the shark wandering around the Cabrera archipelago.

The last confirmed sighting of such a fish in the Balearic Islands was by a fisherman in 1976.

Great whites can weigh up to two tonnes, grow to lengths of 20ft (6m) and reach speeds of 40km/h (25mph).

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"The presence of great white sharks in Spanish waters has been a constant rumour," biologist and documentary maker Fernando López-Mirones told Efe news agency.

"However, we've been unable to document their presence for many years."

Scientists with Spanish conservation group Alnitak recorded the shark for over an hour.

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"We watched the shark up close for 70 minutes around 3m (10ft) from the boat," Mr López-Mirones told Spanish newspaper El País.

According to a documentary from 2007, 27 great whites were caught by fishermen around the Balearic Islands between 1920 and 1976.

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