Apulia

Injured mako shark attacks boat in Gallipoli. Ispra: no bathing risk

An adult mako shark, probably irritated by an injury and engine noise, struck the bow of a pleasure boat with fishermen on board

27 April 2026aggiornato il 29 aprile 2026 ore 10:20

Un esemplare adulto di squalo mako, con una vistosa ferita, urta un'imbarcazione da diporto impegnata in una battuta di pesca a Gallipoli, 26 aprile 2026. FACEBOOK/Giuseppe Zacà ANSA

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Frightening moments off the coast of Gallipoli, where an adult mako shark, with a conspicuous wound, allegedly hit a pleasure boat engaged in a fishing trip.

Lo squalo dalla barca

Un esemplare adulto di squalo mako, con una vistosa ferita, urta un'imbarcazione da diporto impegnata in una battuta di pesca a Gallipoli, 26 aprile 2026. FACEBOOK/Giuseppe Zacà

A number of yachtsmen were on board.

Recounting the episode on social media was Giuseppe Zacà, who released the video, which was picked up by several online newspapers: 'With a sudden, powerful movement he changed direction and struck under the boat. A sharp thud followed by a vibration that went up from our shoes to our heads. The bow jerked and the engine made a metallic noise'.

The shark reportedly hit the front of the boat, perhaps unnerved by being injured and the noise of the boat's engine.

Already in August last year, another, smaller mako shark was spotted in the Salento sea at Porto Cesareo.

"No bathing risk"

Encounters with mako shark specimens 'so largeare quite rare, in the case of smaller animals somewhat less so, but it can happen. There is, however, no risk to bathing or tourism. They are animals that frequent the pelagic environments of the waters'.

This is how Umberto Scacco, researcher Ispra (Superior Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), an expert on cartilaginous fish, told Adnkronos about the sighting of a shark off the coast of Gallipoli, in the province of Lecce in Puglia.

"From the pictures I could see it was a mako shark, scientific name Isurus oxyrinchus. A fairly large specimen, around 3-4 metres long, probably attracted by the bait of deep-sea fishing.

These animals are not aggressive towards humans. When they are intrigued by something that could be a food source, the first thing they do is make direct contact with the object or prey, if the prey is stationary. I think this is the case with this boat, so the animal approached, bumped into the boat to see what it was and then evidently moved away,' the researcher explains.

'Such an event, with a shark of this size,' he observes, 'is, without a doubt, very rare because these animals are diminishing, adult specimens are few. However, it is not uncommon, especially in the world of fishermen, to record incidental catches of smaller specimens of the same species'.

The researcher is keen to 'remove some of the negative shadows on these animals that have unfortunately condemned them to increasing extinction: sharks are not doing very well in all the world's waters, including the Mediterranean, and in particular this species, which is protected by the Iucn (World Conservation Union) red list'.