Cornish Biodiversity Network - Supporting Wildlife Recording
The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Habitat & Distribution
A mackerel shark which is found throughout UK and Irish waters. An oceanic and coastal species found in surface waters to over 700m depth and which can venture into inshore waters. Often seen to leap out of the water when in pursuit of prey. Worldwide, in tropical and temperate waters, though seldom found in waters of less than 16\'baC. Almost certainly only a summertime visitor to northern European seas. There are seven records on the ERICA (2008) database for Cornwall, all recorded between June and August. Numerous specimens were caught during the Shark Fishing Festivals which took place out of Looe in the 1950s until the 1970s, some of these were very large specimens (250kg). This shark is on the IUCN Red List as ' lower risk-near threatened' , the UK List of Priority Species and Annex III of the Bern Convention.
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.