VietNamNet Bridge – Scientists of the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute have confirmed that the fish that attacked swimmers in Quy Nhon were sharks.

At lest ten attacks by unidentified fish were reported at beaches in Quy Nhon city, in the central province of Binh Dinh in 2009 and 2010. This phenomenon had never happened in Vietnam before.

The Ministry of Science and Technology assigned the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute to research the phenomenon and suggest solutions. The project was carried out from August 2010 to April 2012. The project results were made public last week.

The Institute’s deputy director, Mr. Vo Si Tuan, said that three species of shark – blacktip shark, pigeye shark and graceful shark could be the culprits of attacks in Quy Nhon.

“These species of shark have never been reported of attacking human in Vietnam but their habit is going very near to the shore to seek food,” Tuan said.



Scientists of the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute collected 52 samples of 14 large-sized dangerous fish species in Quy Nhon and neighboring areas for research. They defined reasons that caused attacks. The most important reason was fishermen’s release of net to catch baby tiger shrimps and cage-shaped nets to attract big fish.

In addition, some attacks happened coincidentally with the El Nino, which made rain and the water to be opaque, resulted in sharks mistaking humans with their food.

Some attacks might be related to shark’s habit of swimming ashore for reproduction, particularly the graceful shark.

Researchers proposed to move nets and caged-shape nets far from the shore, to use nets to cover part of the bay and the beach to prevent sharks.

Compiled by Le Na