Dear Editor,
I just read the article on hammerhead sharks (Algarve Resident, August 26 edition). I agree they are comparatively harmless, as is the blue shark that lives in the English waters around the south west. I don’t want to alarm you but, like all sharks, there is always that percentage of unpredictability. They are predators and when they have” feeding frenzies “ in packs they can be just as lethal as porbeagles, makos, whales, bulls, tigers, threshers etc.
I don’t want to create a panic; all I’m saying is that coast officials should be vigilant and take into account their unpredictability.
Alan Yuill, England
Dear Editor,
I normally go to Zavial beach when on holidays in Portugal during August.
On Thursday August 18, one could feel the weather changing. Clouds were coming in and the temperature was noticeably rising.
On Friday 19, my wife and I decided to try the beach at Praia da Luz and the warmth was much more noticeable. The waters, as such, reflected this. The sea was almost like a bath.
And then, in late afternoon/early evening, a number of people shouted “sharks!”
People did move out of the sea initially, but nothing more was seen.
I wonder if this is the same pair or some sort of ‘scare-mongering’ on the part of people who had heard about events at Zavial earlier.
John Stone, By email
