A great white shark has been spotted in Spanish waters for the first time in 30 years.
The five-metre (16.4ft) predator was seen in the Cabrera archipelago national park, south of Majorca in the Balearic Islands on Thursday.
It was tracked for 70 minutes by a team from Alnitak, a Spanish conservation project.
The 10-strong crew from five different countries documented the fish's journey.
The group published a photo of the "historic sighting," promising more footage and images later.
We witnessed a historical sighting of a Great White Shark in the Balearic Sea! This morning at 10 am, the crew of Alnitak’s scientific expedition, led by marine biologist Ricardo Sagarminaga von Buiten and documented by ORCA-Films director Fernando Lopez-Mirones, spotted a 5 metre long Great White shark 8 miles from Isla de Cabrera. It remained in sight for 70 minutes in the waters of the Parque Nacional del Archipélago de Cabrera of Spain’s Balearic Islands. Over the years there have been unconfirmed sightings and rumours, but this is the first scientific confirmation of the presence of Carcharodon in Spanish waters for at least 30 years. On this occasion, this historic sighting was photographed, filmed and witnessed by a crew of 10 people from five countries, this morning on board the Töftevaag research ketch! What a beautiful sight! Sharks are essential parts of a healthy ocean ecosystem. #shark #greatwhite #sharks #beauty #greatwhiteshark #deepwater #sharkspotting #charcharodon Our deep-water campaign around the Cabrera Archipelago National Park is part of the LIBERA Program - Todos por La Mar, and is supported by SEO Birdlife - ECOEMBES, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, USFWS, NOAA, SOCIB. #proyectolibera of @seobirdlife with @ecoembes, @usfws @fbiodiversidad @oceancare_icare @noaa #SOCIB @ashokaspain @asociacion_ondine @seamusketeers Asociación Vertidos 0, KAI Marine, @5Gyres and Conselleria Medi Ambient, Agricultura i Pesca – GOIB Special thanks to @beat.vni for your photo skills!
A post shared by Alnitak (@alnitakmission) on Jun 28, 2018 at 8:24am PDT
"What a beautiful sight!" said a caption from the group on Instagram. "Sharks are an essential part of a healthy ocean ecosystem."
"Over the years there have been unconfirmed sightings and rumours.
"But this is the first scientific confirmation of the presence of Carcharodon (the great white's scientific name) in Spanish waters for at least 30 years."
The last confirmed shark attack in Spain was near Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands.
A 13-year-old boy suffered lacerations to his foot but escaped alive, according to the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF).
In England, the last confirmed attack was in 2008, recorded as a "provoked incident" by the GSAF.
