Latest news with #IreneCohn
Malay Mail
17-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Power plant warms waters, drawing sharks and humans to Israel's Hadera beach
HADERA, May 18 — With its golden sand and blue waters, the beach front in central Israel looks much like any other stretch of Mediterranean coast, but a closer look reveals something unusual peeking through the rippling surf: black shark fins. The sharks are attracted to this patch of water in Hadera during the cold season because of the warmth generated by the turbines of a nearby power station. This has provoked an adrenaline-filled coexistence between the increasingly bold ocean predators and the curious, sometimes even careless, humans who come to swim. Last month, a man who got a little too close was mauled to death as spectators on the beach screamed in terror. All that was left were his bones, rescuers told AFP. Now, bathers, authorities, and environmental and shark experts are asking how such an event, never seen before in Israeli waters, happened and what can be done to prevent it in the future. 'Sharks do not harm and never normally attack unless they feel either threatened or if somebody's getting into their territory,' Irene Nurit Cohn, a member of rescue agency Zaka's scuba unit and a seasoned diver, told AFP. 'I've been diving since 1982. I've seen many sharks in my life, it has been thrilling and beautiful to watch sharks... but they're not, and I repeat, they're not dangerous,' she said. Cohn, who was part of the team that searched for the remains of Barak Tzach, a 45-year-old father of four, added that it was the people visiting the unique site who were 'not behaving as they should.' 'People were touching them and disturbing them,' she said, adding that recent media coverage had drawn even more people to the beach. A shark fin is pictured as Israeli rescue services aboard a personal watercraft search for a missing man in the Mediterranean sea waters off the pier of the port of Hadera on April 22. — AFP pic 'It's dangerous' Immediately after the deadly attack, the local authority erected metal fences with 'danger' signs and blocked an access road into the adjacent nature reserve with a cement barrier. Two weeks later, those had been removed, and life at the beach was back to normal. Friends Einav and Carmel, teenagers from a nearby town, appeared largely undeterred by the recent death. They had come specifically to see the sharks. 'Sharks are my favourite animals and so I really wanted to see them, but we said that we will not go inside (the water) because it's dangerous,' said Carmel. Matan Ben David, a spear-fishing and diving instructor who said he has continued to enter the water, said swimmers should keep a distance and adhere to the rules of the sea. 'Sharks are part of nature, something we have to respect, we have to respect the ocean, we're just visitors here,' he said, describing how he had witnessed people crowding the sharks and taking photographs. 'Sharks are an incredible animal, very majestic but they're an alpha predator and, at the end of the day, a lot of people do not always follow best practices,' Ben David noted. Like all unsupervised beaches in Israel, the one where the fatal attack took place was off-limits to swimming—a ban that is widely flouted. Human-wildlife conflict Leigh Livine, a shark researcher who has been monitoring this area for the past four years, said that initially, research showed 'the sharks were staying away from direct conflict with the humans entering the water.' But 'you have a very, very small space that you see this human-wildlife conflict really coming out at certain times of the year.' Livine said the sharks were a combination of Dusky and Sandbar sharks and that they were present in the area between November and May. But with temperatures rising each year due to climate change, 'you have a lot more bodies in the water coming into conflict with the sharks.' Livine said she was shocked by last month's attack but, with interaction between the sharks and humans increasing, was surprised 'that something hasn't happened sooner.' 'It usually comes down to a conflict of space, either food resources, space resources, and we've been seeing humans harass the sharks, really provoking them,' she said.— AFP
News.com.au
17-05-2025
- News.com.au
'Alpha predator' sharks and humans clash on an Israeli beach
With its golden sand and blue waters, the beach front in central Israel looks much like any other stretch of Mediterranean coast, but a closer look reveals something unusual peeking through the rippling surf: black shark fins. The sharks are attracted to this patch of water in Hadera during the cold season because of the warmth generated by the turbines of a nearby power station. This has provoked an adrenaline-filled coexistence between the increasingly bold ocean predators and the curious, sometimes even careless, humans who come to swim. Last month, a man who got a little too close was mauled to death as spectators on the beach screamed in terror. All that was left were his bones, rescuers told AFP. Now, bathers, authorities, and environmental and shark experts are asking how such an event, never seen before in Israeli waters, happened and what can be done to prevent it in the future. "Sharks do not harm and never normally attack unless they feel either threatened or if somebody's getting into their territory," Irene Nurit Cohn, a member of rescue agency Zaka's scuba unit and a seasoned diver, told AFP. "I've been diving since 1982. I've seen many sharks in my life, it has been thrilling and beautiful to watch sharks... but they're not, and I repeat, they're not dangerous," she said. Cohn, who was part of the team that searched for the remains of Barak Tzach, a 45-year-old father of four, added that it was the people visiting the unique site who were "not behaving as they should." "People were touching them and disturbing them," she said, adding that recent media coverage had drawn even more people to the beach. - 'It's dangerous' - Immediately after the deadly attack, the local authority erected metal fences with "danger" signs and blocked an access road into the adjacent nature reserve with a cement barrier. Two weeks later, those had been removed, and life at the beach was back to normal. Friends Einav and Carmel, teenagers from a nearby town, appeared largely undeterred by the recent death. They had come specifically to see the sharks. "Sharks are my favourite animals and so I really wanted to see them, but we said that we will not go inside (the water) because it's dangerous," said Carmel. Matan Ben David, a spear-fishing and diving instructor who said he has continued to enter the water, said swimmers should keep a distance and adhere to the rules of the sea. "Sharks are part of nature, something we have to respect, we have to respect the ocean, we're just visitors here," he said, describing how he had witnessed people crowding the sharks and taking photographs. "Sharks are an incredible animal, very majestic but they're an alpha predator and, at the end of the day, a lot of people do not always follow best practices," Ben David noted. Like all unsupervised beaches in Israel, the one where the fatal attack took place was off-limits to swimming -- a ban that is widely flouted. - Human-wildlife conflict - Leigh Livine, a shark researcher who has been monitoring this area for the past four years, said that initially, research showed "the sharks were staying away from direct conflict with the humans entering the water." But "you have a very, very small space that you see this human-wildlife conflict really coming out at certain times of the year." Livine said the sharks were a combination of Dusky and Sandbar sharks and that they were present in the area between November and May. But with temperatures rising each year due to climate change, "you have a lot more bodies in the water coming into conflict with the sharks." Livine said she was shocked by last month's attack but, with interaction between the sharks and humans increasing, was surprised "that something hasn't happened sooner." "It usually comes down to a conflict of space, either food resources, space resources, and we've been seeing humans harass the sharks, really provoking them," she said.
Al Arabiya
17-05-2025
- General
- Al Arabiya
‘Alpha predator' sharks and humans clash on an Israeli beach
With its golden sand and blue waters, the beach in central Israel looks like any other stretch of Mediterranean coast — but a closer look reveals something unusual peeking through the surf: black shark fins. The sharks are drawn to this patch of water in Hadera during the cold season because of the warmth generated by turbines at a nearby power station. This has led to a tense and adrenaline-filled coexistence between the bold ocean predators and curious — sometimes careless — humans who come to swim. Last month, a man who ventured too close was mauled to death as spectators screamed in terror from the beach. All that was left were his bones, rescuers told AFP. Now, swimmers, authorities, and environmental and shark experts are asking how such an unprecedented event in Israeli waters occurred — and what can be done to prevent another. 'Sharks do not harm and never normally attack unless they feel threatened or someone invades their territory,' said Irene Nurit Cohn, a seasoned diver and member of rescue agency Zaka's scuba unit. 'I've been diving since 1982. I've seen many sharks in my life — it's been thrilling and beautiful to watch them... but they're not, and I repeat, they're not dangerous,' she said. Cohn, who was part of the team that searched for the remains of 45-year-old Barak Tzach, a father of four, emphasized that it was the people visiting the unique site who were 'not behaving as they should.' 'People were touching them and disturbing them,' she said, noting that recent media coverage had attracted even more visitors. Immediately after the fatal attack, local authorities erected metal fences with 'danger' signs and blocked access to the adjacent nature reserve with a cement barrier. But two weeks later, those were removed — and life on the beach returned to normal. Teenagers Einav and Carmel, from a nearby town, were largely undeterred. They had come specifically to see the sharks. 'Sharks are my favourite animals, and I really wanted to see them,' said Carmel. 'But we said we won't go into the water because it's dangerous.' Matan Ben David, a spear-fishing and diving instructor who said he continues to enter the water, stressed the importance of maintaining distance and respecting marine rules. 'Sharks are part of nature — something we have to respect,' he said. 'We have to respect the ocean. We're just visitors here.' He described how people often crowded the sharks and took photos. 'Sharks are incredible animals — very majestic. But they're an alpha predator, and at the end of the day, a lot of people don't follow best practices,' he added. Like all unsupervised beaches in Israel, the one where the deadly attack occurred is off-limits to swimming — a ban that is widely flouted. Leigh Livine, a shark researcher who has monitored the area for four years, said early studies showed the sharks largely avoided direct conflict with humans entering the water. 'But you have a very, very small space where this human-wildlife conflict really surfaces at certain times of the year,' she said. The sharks — a mix of dusky and sandbar species — typically appear between November and May. But rising temperatures due to climate change are increasing both shark presence and human activity in the water. Livine said she was shocked by last month's attack, but also surprised it hadn't happened sooner. 'It usually comes down to a conflict of space — food resources, space resources — and we've been seeing humans harass the sharks, really provoking them,' she said.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
'Alpha predator' sharks and humans clash on an Israeli beach
With its golden sand and blue waters, the beach front in central Israel looks much like any other stretch of Mediterranean coast, but a closer look reveals something unusual peeking through the rippling surf: black shark fins. The sharks are attracted to this patch of water in Hadera during the cold season because of the warmth generated by the turbines of a nearby power station. This has provoked an adrenaline-filled coexistence between the increasingly bold ocean predators and the curious, sometimes even careless, humans who come to swim. Last month, a man who got a little too close was mauled to death as spectators on the beach screamed in terror. All that was left were his bones, rescuers told AFP. Now, bathers, authorities, and environmental and shark experts are asking how such an event, never seen before in Israeli waters, happened and what can be done to prevent it in the future. "Sharks do not harm and never normally attack unless they feel either threatened or if somebody's getting into their territory," Irene Nurit Cohn, a member of rescue agency Zaka's scuba unit and a seasoned diver, told AFP. "I've been diving since 1982. I've seen many sharks in my life, it has been thrilling and beautiful to watch sharks... but they're not, and I repeat, they're not dangerous," she said. Cohn, who was part of the team that searched for the remains of Barak Tzach, a 45-year-old father of four, added that it was the people visiting the unique site who were "not behaving as they should." "People were touching them and disturbing them," she said, adding that recent media coverage had drawn even more people to the beach. - 'It's dangerous' - Immediately after the deadly attack, the local authority erected metal fences with "danger" signs and blocked an access road into the adjacent nature reserve with a cement barrier. Two weeks later, those had been removed, and life at the beach was back to normal. Friends Einav and Carmel, teenagers from a nearby town, appeared largely undeterred by the recent death. They had come specifically to see the sharks. "Sharks are my favourite animals and so I really wanted to see them, but we said that we will not go inside (the water) because it's dangerous," said Carmel. Matan Ben David, a spear-fishing and diving instructor who said he has continued to enter the water, said swimmers should keep a distance and adhere to the rules of the sea. "Sharks are part of nature, something we have to respect, we have to respect the ocean, we're just visitors here," he said, describing how he had witnessed people crowding the sharks and taking photographs. "Sharks are an incredible animal, very majestic but they're an alpha predator and, at the end of the day, a lot of people do not always follow best practices," Ben David noted. Like all unsupervised beaches in Israel, the one where the fatal attack took place was off-limits to swimming -- a ban that is widely flouted. - Human-wildlife conflict - Leigh Livine, a shark researcher who has been monitoring this area for the past four years, said that initially, research showed "the sharks were staying away from direct conflict with the humans entering the water." But "you have a very, very small space that you see this human-wildlife conflict really coming out at certain times of the year." Livine said the sharks were a combination of Dusky and Sandbar sharks and that they were present in the area between November and May. But with temperatures rising each year due to climate change, "you have a lot more bodies in the water coming into conflict with the sharks." Livine said she was shocked by last month's attack but, with interaction between the sharks and humans increasing, was surprised "that something hasn't happened sooner." "It usually comes down to a conflict of space, either food resources, space resources, and we've been seeing humans harass the sharks, really provoking them," she said. reg/acc/ser
