Greve disorder It’ s the silly season, when newspapers deprived of political content run nonsensical stories about sharks, to Paul Cox’ s consternation
Drying Danube reveals relics
El Niño hits anchovies
Greve disorder It’ s the silly season, when newspapers deprived of political content run nonsensical stories about sharks, to Paul Cox’ s consternation
Drying Danube reveals relics
Europe’ s summer of extreme heat and drought has pushed some of its rivers to record lows, revealing long-submerged relics from ancient bones to shipwrecks. The remains of what is believed to be an ancient mammoth were discovered in August on the newly exposed riverbed of the Danube in northern Bulgaria, after the river plunged to record lows. The Danube also runs through Croatia, where receding water revealed the remains of a cargo ship called the Fulton, which was transporting coal down the river when it sank in 1937.
El Niño hits anchovies
A severe global anchovy supply crisis is being reported in the home waters of the world’ s single biggest supplier – Peru. While such a tiny fish may appear unimportant, it’ s relevance to the global economy goes much further than a salty pizza topping. The anchovy sits at the crux of a crucial supply chain that sustains the $ 500-billiona-year aquaculture industry. Anchovies are the main ingredient in fishmeal, which is the primary food source for farmed salmon, seabass and shrimp. Peru is the biggest supplier of anchovies – its annual catch accounts for about 20 per cent of the world’ s supply of fishmeal. It is thought that environmental pressures created by the ongoing El Niño weather event in the eastern Pacific have crashed the anchovy catch, creating a shortage that will in time impact supermarket prices.
People of Jersey, run for the hills. I mean, do your best but it’ s not easy to do on an island where the highest point sits at 136 metres. But, anyway, make yourselves safe because it seems that Jersey is this summer’ s epicentre of shark action. And we all know that where there are shark sightings, it can often lead to madness.
Jersey started early on its 2026“ summer of sharks” when a rare smalltooth sand tiger washed up on alive at Greve D’ Azette. Sadly, the shark didn’ t make it. But it did make it into the record books as the first to be seen in Jersey since records began. It’ s not the first of its kind to be washed up in the channel and we’ re moved on now from describing them as a‘ once in a lifetime’ visitor to these parts. But they are, nevertheless, very rare and it has led to a bit of scientific head-scratching.
This shark achieved another rare feat, which was to generate almost entirely factual and balanced reporting for a shark in the British press.“ Endangered shark dies after washing up on beach”,“ Scientists left baffled as massive 14ft shark turns up on UK shore”. What’ s to complain about with headlines like that( other than the fact that Jersey is not in the UK?).
Clearly, the headline writers were saving themselves, or perhaps the heat hadn’ t kicked in yet. But, come July, all hell broke loose after a shadow in the water caused a beach closure, tales of fleeing beachgoers, a story about a brave lifeguard punching a 7 / 9 / 12 ft( take your pick) shark( some news outlets insisting it was a Great White), and a stream of conjecture about an influx of new shark species on their way to terrorise our beaches, thanks to climate change.
Shark Trust Ambassador Dylan Boothman, aged 10
I was, thankfully, on holiday for most of this( there’ s no greater pleasure than telling a GB News researcher that you’ re out of the country and can’ t do a 7am interview). So, most of what I read about it was on social media. Not always the most reliable source of accurate information, but I gathered that the shadow was either another smalltooth, a porbeagle or a basking shark. Or none of the above. And that the lifeguard either did or didn’ t connect with his right hook.
Point of order though, if it had been a punch to the snout of a basking shark, then he could potentially have been committing an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. So, think twice before trying to be a hero. And that there was either mass panic on the beaches or half hour of quiet shuffling and re-applying of sun lotion. What on earth was going on? And was I safe to return to work?
Then, quite out of the blue, ITV published a brilliant story debunking all the claims and setting the record straight. Panic over, just a possible sighting of a resident shark species and a short beach closure while the authorities took a closer look. But, hey, it got some journalists in London excited for a few days.
So, people of Jersey, as you were. And, in other news, the Jersey Evening Post produced a lovely article last week about the 10 year-old Shark Trust Ambassador – Dylan Boothman. After winning last year’ s Pride of Jersey Awards, Dylan has qualified as a diver and he talks lovingly about his“ incredible encounters with absolutely amazing sharks and marine life”. Great work Dylan, keep it up and maybe, just maybe, your story will be picked up by the scoop hunters of Fleet Street. www. sharktrust. org
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