Angel Shark

Photo: Ben Jobson · CC BY

El Puertito is one of the last strongholds of the critically endangered angel shark in the eastern Atlantic, with a resident population documented at this site year-round due to the combination of calm water, sandy substrate for ambush hunting, and the absence of active fishing within the bay. Angel sharks are ambush predators that bury themselves to the depth of their eyes in sand and wait for mullet, sparids, and flatfish to pass within striking range before lunging upward with a strike speed that captures prey in under 0.1 seconds. Their global population has collapsed by more than 80 percent over the past century due to bycatch and coastal habitat loss, making El Puertito's resident population the subject of ongoing research by the Angel Shark Project and a critical data source for recovery planning in European waters.