Sharks off the Yorkshire coast... and the problem is there aren’t enough of them

Ten years ago there were a few certainties to walking along the beach at Scarborough.

Regardless of the time of year there would always be half-a-dozen families struggling with windbreaks, at least one brave soul would be in the sea, desperately trying to disguise his shivers, while the miles of sand would be reassuringly dotted with lost flip flops.

The more eagle-eyed would also have been able to spot dozens of poetically named Mermaid’s Purse. Not any more. The leathery-looking husks are what’s left behind when baby sharks make their first bid for freedom and they’re a rare sight these days.

It’s not just Scarborough, the trend is replicated along Britain’s coastline as the species struggle in the face of commercial and environmental threats. The problem facing the marine experts is not only that populations are in decline, but that most of us never knew they existed in the first place.

“When you talk to people about sharks in British waters, the first question they generally ask is, ‘What? We’ve got sharks out there, off our coast?’,” says marine expert Lyndsey Crawford, from Scarborough’s Sea Life Centre. “There’s a misconception that they aren’t native to our country, but they are and we really need people to realise how badly their numbers have been depleted.”

Earlier this year, two fisherman unexpectedly landed the biggest shark ever caught off Britain, Measuring 10ft long and weighing in at 550lbs, it beat the record held by a Scottish fisherman back in the early 1990s. Only two big catches in the space of a decade is further evidence of the problems facing British sharks.

“We do get some pretty huge sharks coming into our waters, but obviously we don’t want people to think if they go paddling they will have a chance encounter with a Great White,” says Lyndsey. “However, if we are going to have a chance to reverse this decline, we do need to raise their profile. We need to get people talking about sharks.”

The sharks’ man-eating reputation is not all Steven Spielberg’s fault, although Jaws didn’t help. Even now, more than 35 years on when the rude mechanicals of film’s best-known Great White are so clear to see, there’s something about that music which still sets nerves on edge .

It could take a while to get round that iconic image, but with 33 different species of shark currently struggling for survival in British waters, time is one thing the conservationists don’t have.

“There’s a whole host of reasons why numbers are critically low,” says Lyndsey, who is working closely with the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network, not only to build up a nationwide picture of how sharks are faring, but also to table suggestions for improving their habitats. “In some areas which have been heavily trawlered, the seabed has been damaged and in some cases destroyed and that has a knock-on effect for breeding patterns.

“Others are caught accidentally in the nets that are set up for tuna and we also believe that they may have been effected by pollution in areas where sewage going out to sea hasn’t been properly monitored.

“Add to all that the fact that over the decades, water temperature has increased and basically you have a perfect storm. Even one or two degrees can change how sharks behave. I know people will probably say, ‘Why sharks? Do we really want them in our waters?’, but they are vital. If they are allowed to decline, it will have a massive impact on the entire food chain.”

While around half of Britain’s sharks, including the dogfish, porbeagle and basking shark are resident off the British coast all year round, blue sharks, which migrate from Britain to the Atlantic, have been hit particularly badly as demand for shark fin soup rises in Asia.

Costing up to £65 a bowl, the dish has become a status symbol among the newly-rich. Once the fins are removed, the rest of the shark is thrown back into the sea where they either bleed to death or drown.

The market for shark meat is also growing and it’s now possible to buy it in supermarkets across Europe, South America and the USA.

Conservationists know changing cultural attitudes to sharks won’t be easy, but as part of the project, Lyndsey is trying to tag as many species as time allows. The idea is that when they are recaught the tag, which tracks the shark’s movements, can be removed and sent off to SSCAN where it will be added to the rest of the data.

“Tagging sharks sounds like a dangerous occupation, but generally the biggest hurdle is the weather,” says Lyndsey. “A few weeks ago we were hoping to hold a mass tag-a-thon, but the event had to be pretty much cancelled because the rain was so torrential.

“I’m still a bit of a novice when it comes to fishing and actually catching the sharks, but I’m learning all the time. What this programme does make you realise is how many people care about what’s happening below the waves. We’ve had people turn up in canoes to go tagging and there are a number of deep sea fishing fleets that also help out. That’s vital, because they are the guys who have the knowledge about where different populations exist.”

Often breeding just once every two years and producing just two young each cycle, only one of which is likely to survive, means that engineering a population boost amongst sharks is not easy, particularly when some species are already in danger of extinction. Records show that in the 1940s, 35,000 spiny dogfish were caught off Plymouth every day. Today, the figure stands at less than 20.

One answer to the problem has been legislation, which means species like basking sharks receive special protection. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act it is illegal to kill, injure or recklessly disturb them, with those found guilty facing up to six months in prison. However, when the crime happens miles out to sea, with fishermen using lines up to 100km long, monitoring the illegal trade has been notoriously difficult.

Back in Scarborough, marine experts have been keeping a close eye on the impact of no- take zones which have been introduced in other parts of the country.

Three years after fishing was banned off the Isle of Arran in Scotland, an area devastated by over-fishing, scallop numbers are 10 times higher than in surrounding waters. The one square mile zone also saw the return of various marine plants which had been killed off by repeated trawling.

Many believe that similar zones here could have the same effect on Yorkshire’s shark population.

“No-take zones aren’t the answer on their own, but they could be a key part of the solution,” says Lyndsey. “By banning fishing in designated areas for a set period it would allow the baby sharks to become juveniles in a protected environment. This period is often when they are at their most vulnerable and it would give shark populations a head start.”

However, in the South West plans for a new West Country marine conservation zone has met with some resistance from the fishing industry, which fears the proposals could threaten already fragile livelihoods.

“This isn’t about pitting marine scientists and conservationists against the fishermen, it’s about working out a plan that benefits everyone,” says Lyndsey. “No-take zones are a relatively new idea, but if the experience of places like Cornwall and Scotland are anything to go by, they can and do work.

“Basically you leave an area for three years and that’s long enough for it to rejuvenate and for the marine populations to come back. This is not just about sharks, it’s about the entire marine ecosystem and if we can find a way of boosting populations then everyone will benefit.

“I know when people stand on Scarborough beach and look out to sea, all they see is water. It never looks any different, but right now we are at a crossroads and if we don’t act then everyone will have to pay the price.”

Sharks bring bite to show

The Great Yorkshire Show is used to cattle, sheep and horses - this year it will also welcome its first ever arrival of sharks.

Experts from Scarborough’s Sea Life centre will be bringing a number of species to the event to promeote their own conservation projects and to support Welcome to Yorkshire’s new campaign to boost visitors to the East Coast.

Alongside the dog fish sharks, visitors will also be able to see baby sharks growing inside mermaid purses, which will be displayed next to a giant beach made of 15 tonnes of Scarborough sand.

The Great Yorkshire Show at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate, runs from July 10 to 12. For more details call 01423 544544 or online at www.greatyorkshireshow.co.uk