Shark rescued by restaurant handed to national aquarium

Nurse hound shark Eleanor was snatched from the jaws of death by a restaurant owner and now graces the touch pool at the new aquarium in Qawra. Marvin Gauci, 34, spotted the shark at a fish shop in St Paul’s Bay three years ago when buying fish for his local restaurant, Tarragon. He noticed that it was still breathing, so he asked the fishmonger to put it in his aquarium, but the fish floated belly up. Mr Gauci quickly took it to his restaurant, where he has a large fish tank, and called a veterinarian, who told him to make a cut in its belly to release the air it swallowed while being taken out of the sea. When fish are pulled up they take in a lot of air, which can be let out through an incision in the air bladder. Mr Gauci said the shark settled down in his tank and was eating from his hand a week later. It has since grown by half a foot. Mr Gauci’s intention was to release it back in the sea once it recovered but he was worried it would not be able to survive. So when he heard the aquarium was being built, he decided to donate it for conservation. Yet Mr Gauci’s children – who named the shark Eleanor – pleaded with their father to put it back in the sea. They would stick...