Three-year England shark study will combine angler records, DNA and electronic tags
A University of Exeter-led team has received almost £1m from Natural England for a three-year study of porbeagle, tope (also called school shark) and blue sharks around England. Working with the Marine Biological Association, Angling Trust and Pat Smith Database, researchers will combine long-running catch records, angler observations, interviews, DNA sampling and tags to examine shark movements, population patterns and survival after catch-and-release.
The story
A University of Exeter team led by associate professor Lucy Hawkes and colleague Matthew Witt is starting a three-year investigation into three vulnerable shark species in England: porbeagle, tope or school shark, and blue shark. Natural England has awarded the collaboration almost £1m, according to the report. The project brings together Exeter’s researchers with the Marine Biological Association, the Angling Trust and the Pat Smith Database, which holds recreational shark-catch records dating to 1953. The researchers plan to combine those historic records with contemporary recreational sightings, in-person workshops and interviews with hundreds of anglers from south-west to north-east England. The aim is to establish where and when the sharks feed, mate and migrate, and to track changes in their abundance and distribution. Electronic tagging is a central part of the work. The team plans to deploy 40 tags that remain attached for about 45 days and are intended to help assess how sharks fare after capture and release. It will also use 30 longer-lasting tags, described as lasting about a year, to reconstruct movements and diving behaviour. Scientists will collect small skin samples or swabs for DNA analysis, seeking to assess genetic connections between sharks found in different places. The report says UK recreational shark fishing is now catch-and-release, while commercial fishing and accidental bycatch remain the principal threats identified for UK sharks.
Why it matters
More than 40 shark species occur in British waters, yet the report says scientists know little about most of them. For the three species being studied, evidence on seasonal habitat use, migration and genetic links could clarify whether management needs coordination beyond a single stretch of coast or country. Measuring responses to catch-and-release also addresses a concrete conservation question for a fishery in which live sharks are returned to the sea. Angler-held records may add observations at a scale that the research team says scientists alone could not match.
Evidence and context
The project focuses on species that use English waters within a wider marine system rather than remaining in a single local area. Researchers will examine whether sharks found in England are genetically connected to those elsewhere; the report gives the example of comparing French and English blue sharks. That matters because a shark’s exposure to fishing pressure may occur outside the place where it was observed or tagged. The study also builds on an established citizen-science resource: the Pat Smith Database contains records dating back to 1953. Recreational anglers now commonly measure live sharks before release, rather than the older practice of recording the weight of a landed dead fish, creating a different type of observation record. The project’s combination of historical data, current reports, tagging and genetic samples is intended to fill gaps each source leaves on its own.
Limits and unknowns
Important uncertainties remain. The report does not establish current population sizes, survival rates after release, or the routes the three species take; those are questions the study is designed to investigate. Tag results will come from a limited deployment—40 tags lasting about 45 days and 30 lasting about a year—so they may not capture every season, age group or migration route. Recreational records can broaden coverage, but they reflect where and when people fish and what they can identify and report, rather than a uniform survey of English waters. Researchers also do not yet know the extent of genetic mixing among sharks from different national waters.
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Story timeline
Pat Smith Database records begin
The report says the Pat Smith Database contains shark-catch records dating back to 1953.
Three-year England shark study will combine angler records, DNA and electronic tags
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Highlights
- New shark study launched in England
- Combining historical data and modern technology
- Tagging sharks to monitor survival and migration
- Anglers contribute valuable observations
Transcript
A new study begins to track porbeagle, tope, and blue sharks around England using multiple data sources.
Researchers combine historic angler records, DNA samples, and electronic tags to understand shark movements.
The project uses 70 tags to monitor shark survival and migration after catch-and-release fishing.
Citizen science plays a key role as anglers contribute observations and measurements to the study.
Findings will help improve conservation management by clarifying shark habitat use and genetic links.