Exclusive:
If you thought great white sharks will never be a problem for the UK, think again, as it turns out our waters might just be perfect for these terrifying carnivorous beasts
If Jaws has shown us anything, it’s that great white sharks are absolutely terrifying.
These ocean beasts typically boast a staggering 300 razor-sharp teeth and can smell blood droplets from a quarter-mile away. Lurking in shallow waters, they ram themselves at their prey and chomp into flesh for a taste test before tucking in.
But we’re safe in the UK, right? Not entirely. Last year, the Utah-based Ocearch, which has 437 marine animals tracked, claimed that Ireland and Cornwall were ideal for great whites in the summer.
Here, sea temperatures generally reach the 16C mark – the perfect climate for these predators. And to top it off, both locations are brimming with sealions – their favourite snack alongside dolphins, turtles, other sharks and occasionally humans too.
Chris Fischer, founder of Ocearch, previously told The Times: “We believe that Mediterranean white sharks should be moving north to feed on seals, like all the other populations we have worked on. We believe they should be moving up past Brest [in Brittany] and Cornwall.”
However, Gavin Naylor, the Director for the Florida Program for Shark Research, isn’t convinced that great whites will be a problem for the UK anytime soon. Speaking exclusively with The Mirror, he said: “White sharks likely venture into UK waters from time to time but not into coastal areas with a lot of beach goers. [This is] unlikely to change much into the foreseeable (decadal) future.
“But in a thousand years – who knows?”
The experts’ views come in the wake of several unsettling shark videos that have been circulating on social media, including the sighting of a tope shark at Bournemouth beach in June. Over the past 15 years there have also been more than 100 reported sightings of great whites around the British Isles too.
However, wildlife conservationist Richard Peirce, who led an investigation on this, stressed that just 12 remain credible today and, even then, some may have concerned the same shark.
For now, basking sharks, blue sharks, shortfin mako sharks and Greenland sharks are among the major species to swim in UK waters. The Greenland shark, the second largest carnivorous shark, typically resides in deeper waters, so there’s no need for alarm.
Shark experts at the University of Plymouth previously explained: “So why aren’t they [great white sharks] in our waters?…The truth is nobody really knows.
“Some hypothesise they have not just yet discovered our shores. Whereas some say their migration is not worth the energy it would take. While others believe they are in fact here but remaining hidden, apart from the occasional speculative sighting.”
The Mirror has approached Ocearch for further data.
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