Shark Tagging Mission Under Way

June 12, 2009

Release from: BBC News

I have come to join some anglers for the day who are in pursuit of a rather unusual catch.

Paul Maris and Dave Hawkeswood travel all over the world in search of big fish.

They have come to Luce Bay, in south west Scotland, because it is an area considered a hot spot for one particular type of shark.

They are hoping to catch, and release, some tope.

The fish is Britain's largest native inshore shark and it can grow up to two metres in length.

Our skipper for the day, Ian Burrett, says there used to be 18 species of shark in the waters around Britain but many of them are now in trouble and that, he says, includes the tope.

So it is just possible that today's mission to find some may be a slow process.

As Paul Maris points out, "the hard bit is catching them...".

To a non-angler like me, the key seems to be to find the mackerel, and then just maybe you may find the sharks which like the taste of the little fish.

We were lucky, within half an hour a young one - perhaps a year old - had taken a bite of the bait.

They have to be handled gently. Tope have extremely sharp teeth, they also have very rough skin which is almost like sandpaper, and once they are caught the priority is to ensure both angler and fish remain unharmed.

Mr Burrett said: "Each tag has an individual number on it and the numbers are put onto a database.

"Once we have tagged this fish, if the fish is captured then the address is on it. We will get the data for where it had swum to, where it has been.

"I'll also estimate its weight, and all this information will help us find out more about stock fluctuations, stock migrations and stock dynamics."

So, in as short a period of time as possible, the first tope of the day is tagged and then gently released back into the water.

This is, according to our anglers, the reason all the waiting is worthwhile.

Conservationists believe the number of tope has declined dramatically in recent years, and they are now classed as endangered.

Ian Burrett added: "I have been operating since 1988 and in that time I've seen 20 species that can now been considered as either locally extinct, or only caught as juveniles."

But they're hoping for more evidence to back up their theories, and so are encouraging anglers to take part in a tagging event to tag as many sharks as possible.

And the tagging process has already revealed some interesting information.

Trawler catch

It seems the sharks are creatures of habit.

One fish was re-caught at the very same spot four years to the day from when it was first tagged.

This is a fish which is believed to be migratory - swimming more than 3,000km to as far as the Azores.

Much of the information about tagged fish comes from trawlers - that's where they often end up.

Although they are known as soupfin shark; part of the reason their numbers have declined so dramatically is that they are a by-catch.

As all sharks mature slowly they are vulnerable to overfishing.

England and Wales have given the tope full protection, Scotland has not.

Ian Burrett, who sees himself as a guardian of the sea, hopes that will soon change.

He said: "They just fascinate me and I find it very annoying that man can let something that was prevalent in the sea reduce to such levels. Something has to be done to try and protect them."