The SharkTrust responds to Mako shark sightings

Rather than listen to reason and seek the opinion of those who are capable of making informed judgements about these so-called mako shark sightings off the west country, the western morning news has chosen to continue alarming sea-goers at the height of the holiday season with more dubious claims of such sightings.

To see the latest fanciful story click here.

Once again, there is no reason to presume that this shark was a Mako Shark and even if it was, no reason to presume it posed any threat to humans. The shark, described as devouring mackerel, could never have been a Basking Shark as this species eats plankton. In all probability it was a Porbeagle - a mackerel-eating shark that is relatively common in these waters and has a superficial resemblance to the Mako. The Porbeagle attains some 9 feet in length.

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It has been reported in the Western Morning News of 11th August, that fishermen saw a Mako shark jump next to their boat off Bude, Cornwall.

For the original story click here.

The Shark Trust responds with the following PRESS RELEASE:
Concerns rise as UK public learns that sharks are swimming off our coastline.

Recent media coverage of the possible sighting of a Mako Shark off the Cornish Coast has led to reports of beach closures and concerns amongst holidaymakers.

But does a shark sighting deserve this much attention?

The waters around the UK are home to over 20 species of shark including: Mako, Porbeagle, Thresher, Basking Shark and even Hammerhead. These sharks have been in our waters for millennia. Yet no one has been attacked off our coasts in recorded history.

The recent sighting of a breaching shark 4 miles out to sea from Bude, Cornwall, may have been a Mako, but More probably was a young Basking Shark. Mr Allen Briton, a witness, was quoted as stating "it came crashing up out of the water and belly-flopped back down". The belly-flop is characteristic of Basking sharks not Makos. It is rare to find a Mako over 3 meters in length though the size of the breaching shark in question certainly fits that of a Basking Shark. Both species belong to the same biological grouping (termed an Order) and being superficially similar are easily confused by the non-specialist, especially at a distance. However, if this was indeed a Mako, that is no cause for concern. In fact we should celebrate the rich diversity of our marine life. Makos, despite their fearsome reputation, are only attributed by the International Shark Attack Files with a total of 8 attacks worldwide from 1580 to 2004: that is 1 every 50 years!

Far from being "terrified", anglers on the boat reported to the Shark Trust: "It was a wonderful, fabulous experience and not the first time that we have seen a shark of that size. It is not unusual to see large fish jumping and we cannot understand what the fuss is about."

Generations of British tourists have swum safely off our beaches; just a month ago the papers were full of images of swimmers sharing the water with Basking Sharks. Brett Shepherd (RNLI Beach Life Guard Manager) has assured the Shark Trust that reports of the RNLI being prepared to clear the water in the event of fins being sighted are not as a result of recent media coverage. It is standard RNLI operating procedure in the event of any uncertain marine conditions.

The drive to the beach remains far more dangerous than swimming once you get there. We can only hope that the impact on the Cornish Tourist trade is minimised.

We would urge the public not to presume that there is any sort of threat lurking off our beaches: this is the holiday season and shark stories tend to get more inflated than beach balls at this time of year!

For a letter to the WMN from Shark Trust patron Ian Fergusson concerning the previous "mako" sighting off the Cornish coast, click here.

Source: www.sharktrust.org