While Santiago was sailing back to the shore, sharks were attracted to A Spencer Tracy n a scene from the film the blood left by the marlin in the The Man and Sea water. The sharks began attacking and eating the dead fish Santiago tried to protect his catch, but the sharks kept coming. hen the old man finally reached the shore, he had only a skeleton of the big fish: its head, backbone, and tail. The sharks had eaten the rest. An exhausted Santiago made h way to his shack and sank onto his bed.