Remoras are peculiar fish which maximum size is about 1 m. They are better known as suckerfish,for they are commonly found attached to sharks, turtles, rays, whales and other marine mammals. Small remoras may also travel in the mouths or gills of certain fish species and even attached to boats and ships. Curiously, they may also attach to divers!
Remoras live in tropical ocean waters, but may also be found near the coast and temperate waters, depending on the movement of the host fish. These creatures are not parasites; they use the host fish to transport and protect themselves.In the mean time they feed on parasites and leftover from the said host fish, thus establishing a relationship of mutual benefit.
However, shark behavior regarding remoras seems to vary with species. Some species seem to be more tolerant and even favor their attachment. Sharks like the lemon shark may attack remoras and probably eat them. But of course, this is not usual. Commonly sharks and remoras get alone very well.
In the Gardens of the Queen, a national park off the southern coast of Cuba which includes one of the most important marine reserves of the Caribbean, sharks are not only a great tourist attraction, but an important element to keep the ecosystem’s health and functions. Among the ten species found in the park, the silky sharks are probably the most abundant, at least to the eyes of the divers.
Early this year, a team of shark scientists and filmmakers from Cuba and the US, enrolled in an expedition to study the sharks of Cuba. One the sites chosen wasthe Gardens of the Queen, an area that has been protected for years and where large predators are common.
Fabian Pina, Director of the Coastal Ecosystems Research Center (CIEC), who has dedicated part of his life to study fish - particularly in the Gardens of the Queen- took the team to the spot where the biggest sharks had been sighted and caught. In that site, there is no diving or fishing, so it is practically undisturbed.
Shortly after the divers (scientists and film crew) plunged in to the water they were surrounded by about a dozen of huge silky sharks, for most of them the biggest ever seen. But the goal of the expedition (attach satellite tags to these animals)wouldremain unaccomplished as the sharks disappeared, probably sensing that some danger was approaching.
The scientists and the film crew were surprised to lose sight of the sharks that fled just as if something had scared them. But they were even more astonished when they sighted remoras much larger than the normal size of the species. Fearing that such remoras could have been transported to the place by enormous animals, the team also left the place and went back to the boat.
Whether such huge remoras got to the place riding on even bigger predators remains a mystery. But one thing is certain; nature’s super senses gave a warning to the sharks, which probably anticipated the presence of the immense remoras or some other animals that may have scared them off.