Shark 'images' no more than a photomontage

Electronic images of sharks, supposedly photographed at Dwejra and Comino, doing the rounds via e-mail have been labelled as no more than a photomontage.

Alex Buttigieg, who runs Sharkman's work organisation, said the photos were obvious fakes.

"Sharks do not come so close to land and you can easily tell that they are just a photomontage. But we went a step further and sent them to a digital lab abroad and they pinpointed 101 details to show these are fakes and that people should not worry about such photos," he said when contacted.

Mr Buttigieg has been diving for the past 25 years and has been diving daily for the past 15 years. Yet, he said he never saw a shark in Maltese waters. "I know a few divers who have seen one in their lifetime. But they are few and far between," he added.

With the advent of summer, sightings of "big fish" are frequently reported but most of these would be either dolphins or tuna.

Conservation biologist Adriana Vella said members of the foundation carry out surveys on a daily basis "but we have yet to see a healthy presence of sharks in Maltese waters".

The great white shark, basking shark and devil ray are three species of sharks that are protected locally.

Earlier this week, the Biological Conservation Research Foundation (Bicref) said many species of sharks and rays were in danger of becoming extinct. Some 33 species of sharks have been recorded in Malta. A considerable number of sharks, usually measuring under a metre, are landed at the fish market. Most are caught on tuna lines.

Earlier this month a shortfin mako shark was caught about 30 miles off Malta.