Fish take a bite out of swimmers in Mallorca

In recent years, there have been repeated reports of fish biting people underwater, most commonly on the legs and feet.

As Axel O. described in an email to the Mallorca Magazine newsroom, he was bitten by several fish twice this week. Both incidents occurred near the Palma Aquarium while the German holidaymaker was in the water. The second incident took place this Thursday, the reader reports: “Today, however, the bite was rather serious and I got out of the water straight away, as it was even bleeding.”

In the past two years in particular, the number of reports of fish bites on the island has increased. Cases have been recorded not only on the beaches around Palma, but also in other parts of the archipelago, such as Sa Ràpita, S'Estanyol, Cala Pi, and Cala d'Or.

In an interview with MM two years ago, marine biologist Silvia García from the international environmental protection organisation Oceana stated that biting incidents were rarely the result of attacks by adult fish. “They are usually juvenile fish, only a few days or weeks old, so small and transparent that they are barely visible in the water,” the expert explained.