Shark Fishing

SHARK FISHING (rods & tackle provided)

An introduction & what to expect!

A typical day starts at 9am Leaving the Harbour for the fishing grounds some 12 to 20 miles out in the English Channel. We will often stop on the way to catch Mackerel for fresh bait if there are marks showing up on the way, otherwise we will catch the bait when we are on the grounds.

On arrival at the fishing grounds, bags full of mashed fish know locally as “Rubby Dubby” are hung from the side of the boat, this creates a scent to attract sharks to the area. Passengers can help increase the chances of catching a shark by frequently shaking the Rubby Dubby bag, which makes for a better scent and trail. The better the scent the better chances of attracting sharks into the area.

Tackle consists of a good quality rod and multiplier reel holding 300-400yards of 30-80lb line. A size 10/0 or 12/0 hook is baited with fresh mackerel and the lines are set at different depths and allowed to drift away from the boat (often we will drift several miles during the day, as the boats drifts with the wind and tide).

Whilst waiting for a shark bite you will be provided with a rod and reel to fish for other species such as mackerel, garfish or whiting. If you are new to fishing, Patrick is always on hand to help & teach.

When a shark takes the bait the audible ratchet on the reel will sound a warning and the float will slide away. Sharks often run several yards of line from the reel it is important not to strike too quickly, allowing the shark to take the bait properly.

Once the fish is hooked it is important to ensure that the clutch setting on the reel is not too strong so the shark can take line when running without fear of the line breaking.

Get ready for a big battle when you hook a Shark and start preparing your personal tail of how you caught a monster whilst fishing with Patrick on the Carrie-Jane.

Sharking “Catch and Release Policy” to Protect our Sport

We operates a strict 'catch, tag & release' policy when shark fishing. It is the only way forward if we are to keep a healthy shark fishery. Other Ports have found out that if you kill your sharks you also kill your sport.

We will try our hardest to unhook the shark, get you a decent photograph, then release within minutes of getting it aboard (giving the shark the best chance of suvival when realesed).

"All About Sharks in our waters"

Blue Shark (Great Blue Shark)

The Blue Shark (Prionace Glauca) is a pelagic (open ocean) shark, and is the most easily recognised sharks by its distinctively coloured streamlined body reaching nearly four metres in length with a pointed conical snout, and long pectoral fins, enabling this shark to glide along in ocean currents.

The distinct colouration of a Blue Shark is a dark blue from above, bright blue on its sides, changing to white underneath on its belly. Blue Shark teeth, on both the lower and upper jaw have triangular with smooth or finely serrated edges. It has five gill slits, a heterocercal tail, large circular eyes and a first dorsal fin that is much larger than the second.

Blue Sharks swim slowly and are designed to cruise over great distances with minimum energy expenditure, although they are known to be able to exert bursts of speed and rapid movement when hunting. Blue Sharks are voracious predators, mainly feeding on schools of pelagic fish such as Cod, Hake, Haddock, Herring, Mackerel, Pollack and Pilchards, (also squid, and may sometimes even seals). They are opportunistic foragers that will not hesitate to consume densely packed krill, scavenge off of a dead Whale or pursue an injured Porpoise. Blue Sharks are considered to be dangerous and are thought to be responsible for attacks on ship and air disaster victims; they have been known to consume dead and injured sailors and pilots during air/sea war disasters and are considered dangerous to divers. The Blue Shark's snout is packed with sensitive electrical field detection equipment that enables it to track and zero in on a prey item.

The Blue Shark occurs in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans in both inshore and offshore waters. This wide ranging species is found from 50º N latitude to 50ºS latitude. In temperate waters the Blue Shark is a wide ranging pelagic species occurring near the surface. In tropical waters the Blue Shark is more commonly found in deeper waters where it is cooler. Coastal/Offshore species from the surface down to 150m.

The Blue Shark is a viviparous species, nourishing the young in the uterus via a yolk sac placenta and giving birth to live pups. The new born shark pups measure 35 to 50 cm in length and litters usually consist of between 20 to 40 individuals. A litter can have as few as four and as many as 135 pups, depending upon the size of the mother.

Females Blue Sharks do not mature until they are 5 years old (length approximately 230cm), and probably do not breed for the first time until they are 7 years old, while for males it is achieved at lengths of 180cm to 280cm. After copulation the females may retain and nourish the spermatozoa in the oviducal gland for months or even years while she awaits ovulation. Once the eggs have been fertilized there is a gestation period of between 9 and 12 months.

Blue Shark Fishing in the UK

Blue Sharks inhabit deep water in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas worldwide and are frequently spotted off the coasts of Ireland, Wales and Cornwall, predominately found hunting in locations where the Gulf Stream has its strongest influence. The UK record of 218 lbs, was set in 1959 off Cornwall.

Blue Shark Migration

Blue Sharks are highly migratory and travel further distances than any other shark, migrations of 1,300 to 1,800 miles are common and journeys of 3,700 miles have been recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. In the Pacific Ocean, Blue Sharks have been found to travel even longer distances of up to 5,700 miles. The Blue Sharks’ complex migratory patterns are believed to be linked to reproduction, populations of mature males and females meet to mate and pregnant females migrate huge distances to give birth well away from other mature sharks and the distribution of their prey. Different sexes and ages undergo different patterns of movement, young male and female sharks are usually found in different areas, and mature adults are also separated for most of the year.

Genetic analysis indicates that the Blue Sharks of the western and eastern North Atlantic represent a single breeding stock. Mating takes place in the western North Atlantic during spring and early summer (May through to July). Incredibly many of the recently-mated female Blue Sharks in the western North Atlantic are not yet sexually mature; they store the sperm packets in special sacs (shell glands) within their reproductive tract. As they migrate on their transatlantic journey eastward across the North Atlantic the adolescent female Blues mature and begin passing ripe ova through their shell glands where the sperm packets are stored and fertilization takes place. Roughly a year after a female Blue Shark was inseminated in the western North Atlantic, she self-fertilizes during her epic eastward migration. Most of the male blue sharks will remain in the western North Atlantic. The gestation period is 9-12 months, resulting in a large litter of between 4-135 pups at a length of 35-50 cm born in the spring or summer months. The number of pups varies among females and is thought to be related to the size of the female. Pups are live born (known as vivipary) in nursery areas. They will remain here until they reach a length of about 130 cm at which time they will begin to migrate. By the age of maturity, their migration patterns will resemble those of other Blue Sharks.

To conserve energy on their long migration, female Blue Sharks ride the open ocean currents from the western North Atlantic following the course of the clockwise-flowing North Atlantic Gyre, journeying from west to east in the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Current to reach pupping grounds off Southern Ireland, West Wales, South West England, Spain, Portugal and the eastern Mediterranean. The next leg of the Blue Sharks’ journey takes them south in the Canaries Current, after which those returning to America find the North Equatorial Current and follow it back across the North Atlantic to the Caribbean. On the last leg of their journey the female Blue Sharks head north again in the Gulf Stream to return to traditional mating sites off the New England coast.

The total round trip is about 9,500 miles.

Porbeagle Shark

The Porbeagle Shark (Lamna Nasus), is UK's biggest game fish. It is thought to grow to about a thousand pounds and is endemic to the cool temperate waters of the Northern Atlantic. It is a pelagic, oceanic shark and is frequently found near the shore especially during the summer months.

The Porbeagle is a stout thick set perfectly formed shark that is blue grey on top and white underneath with a white patch on the trailing edge of the first dorsal fin. It has the usual characteristics of 5 gill flaps, a pointed nose and large eyes, with a crescent shaped tail and a secondary keel that effectively cuts the water during the side to side swimming motion. It is easily identified by clusps at the base of its teeth with a white patch at the bottom of its dorsal fin and has a capability of growing two or three rows of teeth.

The Porbeagle shark is a member of the Lamnidae family of shark's which includes the Great White and Mako Sharks. The 'Porgie' as it is affectionately known, follows the huge pelagic Mackerel and Herring shoals and is the main reason it is found close inshore during the summer months. However they also eat Cod, Pollack, Haddock, Squid and Shellfish.

The Porgie is warm blooded and ovoviviparous, retaining the developing young within the brood chamber before giving birth to live young. The developing sharks obtain nutrients by devouring other fertilized eggs in the oviduct. Young are probably born in the late winter and spring. The females generally produce four pups that are between 60 to 75 cm long at birth. Female porbeagles reach sexual maturity at an age of 12 years or older, while the males are mature at age 7 years. However, they are only thought to breed once every two to three years.

Porbeagle Shark Fishing Marks

The Porbeagle in the UK and Ireland is predominately found hunting in locations where the Gulf Stream has its strongest influence.

England has well-known marks located off the North Cornwall and Devon coasts, from ports such as Padstow, Boscastle and Crackington Haven. The South Cornwall ports such as here in Looe and Polperro also produce Porbeagles but not in the quantities as West Wales. The English Channel and the Isle of White also produces good-sized specimens every year.

North East Scotland has produced huge Porbeagles in the past, but because of over-fishing this has led to a decline in the species in this area over the last few years.

Thresher Shark

These sharks use their tails to herd baitfish into a mass by slapping or thrashing the water, then stunning or injuring fish before swallowing them.

Thresher sharks have a max weight of 900 pounds. They are easily recognized by the long upper tail section that is almost as long as its body which is uses to strike fish with. These sharks are strong fighters, occasional jumpers and very fast swimmers.

The Thresher has a short snout and large eyes placed forward on the head. The second dorsal fin is much smaller than the first. The Thresher is a strong swimmer and can leap clear of the water. The jaws are small with small, curved sharp teeth without basal cusps or serrations. Colour varies from brown to black with metallic hues from above and irregular white markings on the underside.

This shark's teeth are small, curved, and smooth, but razor sharp. The teeth are similarly shaped in both the upper and lower jaws. Color varies from metallic brown to blue on the dorsal side and white on the ventral side.

Threshers have small, blade like, smooth edge-curved teeth. There are 20 teeth on either side of the upper jaw and 21 teeth on either side of the lower jaw. The two jaws have similar teeth with each successive tooth becoming increasingly oblique with outer margins increasingly deeply concave.

Atlantic Common Thresher Shark (Alopias vulpinus)

The Thresher shark is brown, gray, blue-gray, or blackish on its back and underside of its snout, lighter on the sides, and abruptly white below. A white area extends from the abdomen over the pectoral fin bases. The pectoral, pelvic, and dorsal fins are blackish, and white dots are sometimes present on pectoral, pelvic, and caudal fin tips. The caudal fin is sickle-shaped, and the upper lobe is extremely long - about 50% of total body length.

Mako Sharks in UK Waters? 

There have been various reports of Mako Sharks (Maori for “man-eater”) in UK Waters in the last few decades, but is this just a case of mistaken identity ?

Makos were apparently common in the waters off Cornwall, but none have been caught since the early 70’s.

The sightings of a Mako shark off Cornwall leaping out of the water may have just been amorous Basking Sharks. One sighting estimated at 15ft would be extremely big for a Mako shark but a normal size for a Basking Shark!

Many times a Porbeagle is mistaken for a Mako, as they look so similar. Both members of the Lamnidae family of sharks. A Porbeagle dorsal fin has a rounded top to its dorsal with a white area on the back bottom of the dorsal, whereas a Mako has an erect dorsal with no white on the back bottom of the dorsal.

Mako

Porbeagle (notice the rounded top and white patch on back of its dorsal fin)

Although there have been no recent reported sightings of the Mako Shark, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that one might be out there!

Great White in UK Waters?

There was an alleged sighting of a Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) during 1999 in Cornwall.

In UK waters this is especially doubtful, as the Great White Shark is exceptionally scarce in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, you will have to go as far south to Spain at least to find one. The most northerly confirmed and authenticated account comes from La Rochelle, in Biscay.

If the a White shark was in UK Waters there would be three origins, the Mediterranean, Western North Atlantic, or Southern African, this species may have the greatest range of all living sharks but it is very unlikely for it to venture as far UK waters.

More likely is that the sightings were of that another lamnid shark, probably the Porbeagle.the shortfin mako.

With the amount of commercial fishing in UK waters, there has never been any reasonable proof of their existence in our waters. Having said that, there is no reason why they may not stray in our waters!