This bay, stretching from Cap d’Antibes to Mont Boron in Nice, has a rather unique name.
While there are several legends surrounding this name, the most probable explanation comes from the sea. The Baie des Anges owes its name to a special shark, the « squatina squatina. »
Several specimens of this species have been carefully preserved at the Nice Museum of Natural History. They are very old, dating back to 1878 and 1879. This species of shark is entirely flat: « Its shape can be misleading because it is flattened, somewhat like a ray. Where it differs from a ray is that its fins and head are not fused together, » explains Paul Thoisy, the cultural mediator at the Museum of Natural History.
This shark uses several strategies to hunt: « It lives on the sandy bottom and uses its shape to disappear, setting ambushes for its prey. It waits patiently for an animal, a mollusk, an octopus, or a fish to pass over it, and then it launches an attack by opening its mouth wide and sucking in its prey, » Thoisy details.
A Species Facing Extinction
Called the « angel shark » because of its two large wing-shaped fins, it was well-known to local fishermen in the past century. However, today, the species is endangered and now only lives in the waters of Corsica.
It has been prohibited from fishing since 2010 and has been classified as critically endangered in the Mediterranean since 2006. « At the time, there was a significant population of this fish, but it disappeared due to overfishing, » says Yvan Besker, president of the Prud’homie de Nice.
The City of Nice and local fishermen have plans to reintroduce this protected species into the Bay of Nice.
Source: FranceInfo
