Stay away from sharks, says Israel’s parks authority

Big fish spotted cruising through the water off the coast of Hadera could be sharks looking to relax in warm waters expelled by a local power station, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority warned on Thursday in a plea to curious divers to stay away from the area.

Throughout the winter months, groups of sharks are drawn to the shallows opposite the Orot Rabin electric plant, which are kept warm by heated water released into the sea from the generators’ cooling system.

“Every year at this time, many sharks arrive in the area of the power station in Hadera, which emits warm water into the sea,” the INPA said in a statement. “The sharks appear in groups and gather in the shallow water.”

The sharks are an attraction to local divers, who organize group dives to observe and photograph the visitors.

However, the INPA cautioned that there are many dangers in the area where the sharks gather — but not from the predator’s notorious teeth.

Discarded fishing wire, fishing hooks, turbulent waters and strong currents all pose a threat to divers, the INPA said.

In addition “the meeting with the sharks is not predictable or controlled, and can be a danger to the divers and the sharks that come to the area,” the INPA added and noted the fish are considered endangered.

“Therefore it is forbidden to harm, harass, or feed them and whoever does so is breaking the law and risking criminal sanctions,” the statement said.

Sharks attacks are almost unheard of off the coast of Israel, although in September 2013 a diver at a fish farm off the coast of Ashdod nearly lost his hand after being bitten by a shark.

In April 2012 two amateur fishermen accidentally caught a 2-meter-long shark in Ashdod, and in 2005 sharks were captured in the area on two separate occasions.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.