The Manx Wildlife Trust has started a new project, working with local anglers to learn more about our small shark species. Whilst the basking sharks often steal the limelight, it is important not to overlook the other sharks we have in Manx waters. This includes tope, bull huss, spurdog, and a number of rays. They are long lived, slow breeding sharks and so are threatened by over exploitation and are vulnerable to extinction. Without better scientific knowledge, the government is not able to know how best to protect or manage them.

The programme will work with anglers who catch the fish and release them unharmed. They will record details about the length, sex and condition of the sharks, as well as attaching a small plastic identification tag to them. If the shark is then re-caught at any time, both the original angler and whoever subsequently catches it will be informed about how long the shark was at liberty for, the approximate distance travelled and how much it has grown. Tope tagged in Scottish waters have been re-caught in the Bay of Biscay and Azores – it will be interesting to see if sharks in the Isle of Man make similar long distance migrations!

The new Isle of Man project is being done with the help and collaboration of the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme. Not only will their support get us up and running, but it will also increase the value of the programme by sharing data and raising awareness across a wider group of anglers.

Any anglers who regularly catch or target small sharks and who want to join the programme, please contact eleanor@manxwt.org.uk or call 844432. Finally, any anglers who catch a tagged shark, please take as many details as possible, including the identification number on the tag, and report it to Eleanor or online at www.tagsharks.com/submit-tag-data. It is hoped that with better knowledge of the distribution and movements of our small sharks, we can push for better conservation of these fascinating animals.

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