Until this discovery, this section of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea was thought to be a desolate ocean desert.
By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)
In a shocking discovery, the largest ever nursery of deep-sea sharks was found off the coast of Tel Aviv. Located among the lowest layer of the ocean just above the seabed, thousands of shark eggs were found, along with hundreds of sharks! According to scientists, this discovery has major worldwide implications for both the study of blue water marine life, and its preservation!
For marine biologists this revelation is earth-shattering, as the consensus was that the Eastern Mediterranean was a desolate ocean desert. As a result, little research was done there until about 10 years ago when the world’s most well-known oceanographer, Dr. Bob Ballard (among his many achievements, he discovered the location of the Titanic in 1986) was visited by his long-term, Israeli research partner Prof. Zvi Ben-Avraham. Together they promoted deep sea research off the coast of Israel, then non-existent. University of Haifa’s Charney School was founded, and the program was so successful that it became a state-of-the-art deep sea research center (it even developed technological techniques which were instrumental in the discovery and likely to be invaluable to biologists around the world).
As with so many of the world’s greatest discoveries, this was found by accident. The University, in collaboration with other top Israeli institutes, was studying the effects of “climate change” underwater when they happened upon this shark mating area. Far from being desolate, this small underwater desert oasis (several hundred meters long) is a biologically diverse paradise with a rich food web-based on methane. While it was only recently discovered, Charney School’s Professor Dr. Yitzhak Makovsky believes it has been there for thousands of years “right under our noses”. The exact type of sharks found have yet to be announced, but deep-sea sharks in the Mediterranean include Gulper Sharks, Kitefins, and Little Sleepers. Although these creatures have extremely sharp teeth and have been known to bite into deep-sea optical fiber cables (which enable, among many things, long distance telecommunications) they are not considered dangerous to humans due to the depth at which they are found.
While the discovery itself was a shock, the fact that a previously unknown underwater entity could exist without anyone knowing of it comes as no surprise. The Oceans (compromising about 71% of our planet) are the last largely unexplored frontiers on Earth. According to scientists, more than 80% of our underwater world has never been mapped, explored or even seen by humans. Discoveries of new creatures (some of them gigantic), habitants and previously unknown mega-deep depths are very common.
Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here. To view sample tour itineraries or to inquire about private tour opportunities with a personalized itinerary on your next trip to Israel, click here.
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