Great White Shark spotted in Britain? | Sharks | BBC
Shark videos 15 years ago 305,557 views
Watch this short video from BBC widllife documentary 'Sharks: Great Whites in Britain?' to hear a convincing reason why swimmers should be wary of the British coastline! A group of divers believe they had a narrow escape from an aggressive encounter with a great white shark. . Watch more high quality videos on the BBC Earth YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/BBCEarth and visit http://www.BBCEarth.com for all the latest natural history exclusives and fantastic new wildlife videos.
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10. comment for Great White Shark spotted in Britain? | Sharks | BBC
20. comment for Great White Shark spotted in Britain? | Sharks | BBC
and look and are realated of the great white
30. comment for Great White Shark spotted in Britain? | Sharks | BBC
Its is NOT footage of a shark filmed in Scotland.
SHARK LIVES MATTER!!!! They rlly do.....shark r important to the eco systems in the ocean.
50. comment for Great White Shark spotted in Britain? | Sharks | BBC
Secondly: He was talking about the fish, where did you get big chips from?
- Portugal
However, does anyone remember a story (a few years ago) regarding a team of marine biologists that caught, tagged, tracked and then named a great white shark by the name of "Lydia" for their research?
Well firstly, I do believe that "Lydia" is still swimming around healthy and well. However, "Lydia" made news around the world when early data from her tracking device showed that she was well and truly on her way to Ireland. As much as I'm fascinated by great whites, personally I wanted it to turn back. However, around the same time the Plymouth Herald then reported via her data that "Lydia came within 700 miles of Devon's waters." You don't have to be a fully qualified marine biologist to quickly appreciate that a distance of 700 miles for a great white shark is nothing. Also, if a great white shark was to visit UK waters, you'd think it would visit our warmest patch of water, which would be the Cornish coast before heading further south, eventually into the Mediterranean.
However, the woman in this clip says that she had just started "a weekends diving in Ullapool." I openly admit that I've never heard of "Ullapool" and had to Google its location. Considering we're talking about great white sharks, I was shocked to find that Ullapool is right up north on the west coast of Scotland.
Therefore, we all believe what we want to believe. Have great white sharks ever visited UK shores? I for one believe it's entirely plausible that a great white shark may have been spotted off the Cornish coast. But off the coast of Scotland? I struggle to believe it.
Please excuse my ignorance if I'm wrong as I'm not an expert. But to me and in theory, that means there's a rare possibility that a great white shark (albeit during the summer.) COULD/MIGHT be spotted off the coast of Blackpool (cold, dark & filthy water) Liverpool (cold, dark and filthy water), Isle of Man, Caernarfon etc. All due to (and according to some.) the "gulf stream?" Well, all those locations (like Ullapool.) are also on the west coast the UK. I know it sounds silly but to me, it's all the same principle. Isn't it?
If interested, I've left links regarding "Lydia" when she was well and truly on route to the UK. The second link will provide you with all of "Lydia's" tracking data. These links show it's entirely plausible that great whites and from time to time might visit the Cornish coast. But off the coast of Scotland? Sorry, but I'm not entirely convinced.
And as for the shark we see in the clip while these people tell their story. If that is genuine footage of a great white shark swimming around & off the coast of Scotland, then no doubt about it, we'd have all seen that exact same footage by now as it would have made world news. Just like "Lydia" did when she was on her way to Ireland.
1) http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/great-white-shark-lydia-changes-course-heading/story-20952540-detail/story.html
2) http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/great-white-shark-lydia-on-course-for-ireland-track-her-movement-across-the-atlantic-ocean-30079497.html
I do slot of skate fishing in the sound of mull/ firth of Lorne and once had a 12/15 ft shark cruise under the boat. it was about 25ft down so couldn't see it but was on the sonar/ fish finder.
there are whites there not very many but they are there in the summer.
I'll happily accept being both Patronising and Condescending rather than being an anonymous keyboard-bully who has no mind for other people's opinions and rides roughshod over them - just because he can, all the while hiding behind a YTube handle.
White Sharks generate their own body heat. There is NO reason why they're not here. None at all. Someone said it was probably a Porgie - but no Porbeagle ever reached anything like 5m. We have the world's biggest Porbeagle sharks in the Pentland Firth and those top out around 800lbs - they're tubby sharks and aren't seen at the surface unless hauled up on a line or a net. If these people are telling accurately what they saw then Great White is the only fitting fish ID. As said elsewhere there is no reason why they aren't here. In fact they SHOULD be here given temperatures and available food supplies in the form of huge seal populations.
Technically whites could be swimming around northern England and Scotland in the summer time and pretty much the south coast (especially a place like the Scillies) all year round.
100. comment for Great White Shark spotted in Britain? | Sharks | BBC
You do realise it was a re-creation? It wasn't actual footage of the event. And this was 7 years ago so the filming is obviously going to be bad
otherwise they're gonna need a bigger boat
Great white shark, spotted off the coast of Scotland, with genuine video evidence = world news.
Great wights have been spotted around the UK for years, give climate change it is no surprise that they would move into our waters.
Plus don't go by the weather on the land to tell you what the sea temperature is!!
If their is a food source sharks will come in.
And I have seen seals from Cornwall to east wittering! So they have food...
We will only see more of these.
Colouration looks like a GW, certainly not a basking shark or whale shark the only other contenders. Great Whites have been caught in the Bay of Biscay, so Britain is in their possible range. Great Whites have been known to have a feeding range from Australia to South Africa, so distance is no object.
The numbers in British waters aren't big enough to deter anyone from swimming, more chance of being killed by sewage or drowning than a GW, but they're almost certainly around.
Why does it matter if i have good knowledge of UK's marine fauna or not?
If we know that Great Whites have been and can be found there (even just occasionally), that's all we need to know.
(Considering of course that we know how a White looks like and how he is different from other sharks.)
That's irrelevant...
Based on what? How can you be pretty sure about that?
It was mosty likely a great white. The eye witness descriptions are detailed and consistent with a great white. They are a widely ranging species, the UK water temps are well within their range and there is pleny of prey items to feed on.
It's logical the occasional wandering great white reaches Britsh waters.
You don;'t have to be a specialist in order to not be able to tell the difference between a 15ft great white and a 8ft porbeagle. Im not a specialist yet I can easily tell the difference. The guy has plenty of experience seeing big sharks, including basking sharks.
I have a brain thank you. This was a clear and detailed sighting by a competent marine biologist. Great whites are here in British waters occasionally. Its not fantasy.
No competent biologist is going to confuse a 8ft porbeagle with a 15ft great white. You'd have to be half blind, stupid or a liar. Are you accusing him of being one of the above?
Amen... Someone with a brain who does not believe everything he is told without questioning...
Yeah. Obviously they didn't have much money to spend on better trickery hehe.
Yep. It is. Cheers.
Its stock footage with a bit of CGI magic thrown in.
You can't compare the footage of basking sharks and dolphins in British waters to the lack of footage of great whites. Basking sharks and dolphins = common/frequent around British shores. Great whites = rare occasional visitors. You have, in a way, even answered your own quandary. Great white sharks are extremely rare here. THAT is why there is no footage yet. There isn't much footage of great whites in the Mediterranean, yet they are frequently there. So where is the footage???
This biologist in all likelihood correctly identified a very rare sighting of a great white shark in British waters. He described it in detail, from its size to its prominent features. Seeing as I don't doubt that great white sharks visit British waters from time to time, I see no reason to discount this report.
All I'm saying is I'm more likely to believe what he's saying as he should be able to lidentify two very different shark species up close or his employers and grant bearers have got serious decisions to make right? lol
Not only that but the sharks we see in the footage are definitely Great White's. The question is was the footage shot there and then or just stock footage added for dramatic effect of the reconstruction? I'm currently leaning towards the latter.
He is not risking anything though is he? As there is no proof either way. He tells his story and states his reasons. And trust me, Marine Biologists make mistakes ALL the time, just like every man/woman in any other profession in the world does. Your reasons for accepting his word as absolute truth equate to the same as trusting a president to tell the gospel truth. "Well it must be true, he's the president of the United States......". Doesn't work like that for me i'm afraid. But as stated maybe 5 times now, that is just my personal opinion. You and all other viewers can believe whatever you wish.
I wouldn't just accept anything from anyone no matter how qualified. I have dived with Great White sharks off southern Australia and even our "experts" misidentified several sharks on several occasions over the course of 2 days. It is not a question of lying, I doubt that that particular man is a liar. I just totally doubt his story is 100% correct.
The shark we see is definitely a Great White without question.
BUT...
At the start it says "reconstruction". So I'm left wondering whether the actual shark footage we all see was in fact taken there and then on the boat at the time or in fact just stock footage added for dramatic effect by the BBC?
Jesus christ, not you as well. The fact he says it was 5 doesnt make it so. Good god, do you just accept everything anyone says without question????
I'm not entirely sure what point you are trying to make.You believe the story and think Whites are in UK waters and you don't need pictures for proof. I don't think they are liars, I think they are mistaken. I think that Whites do frequent our waters but very very rarely, and it's even rarer that any people genuinely see one here. I do require proof as for several decades now cameras and mobile phone cameras have been widely available and used. We have tons of basking shark pictures, tons of Whale pictures, tons of dolphin pictures and just about every other animal you can think of that lives in or around our seas. Yet there are ZERO definitive pictures of a White in our waters. That says alot. My rough guess would be for every 100 stories of Whites in our waters, 95 are mistakes, and the last 5 is a split between liars and possibly, 1 maybe 2 at most are legit. But again, that is just my opinion, and even experts can be mistaken. Fisherman are not too helpful either as they are likely to misidentify a Shark they have never seen in real life. I have been deep sea fishing many times and even when you hook fish or see them around your boat, you cant always identify until the very last seconds as UK waters are not particularly clear waters. Either way, I am not being negative about it, I would love to see the proof, hence I watched this video in the first place.
This was 2003 (nearly a decade and a half ago). And it wasn't just him. The others there agreed with him. A 5 metre shark acting aggressively with a large pointed snout, black eye, triangular dorsal with white underside from the mid line. This is a detailed description of a great white and not a porbeagle or basking shark or anything else.
You say you think great white sharks sometimes come here and that people should be seeing them, but then when people do see then you wont accept it without pictures. That's kinda strange.
I don't doubt this report at all. It wasn't rushed and it wasn't at distance. I'm certain they are here and I'm certainly people have seen them. I don't need a picture to believe their story. Of course it would be better but no picture doesn't mean no great white.
I do think he made a mistake. But that is just me, and like I said, everyone and their nan has a camera these days. Show me pics!
I don't any competent biologist is going to mistake a porbeagle for a 5 metre white. And he wasn't the only one remember. There were others who though based on the size it was a basking shark at first.
The sighting wasn't fleeting and it appears to be detailed.
I am not sure it is a Porbeagle, I am confident is probably was. It is much more likely. Secondly, check out some videos about how we exaggerate and literally make up a MASSIVE percentage of our memories based on what we think happened and what we expect to happen. Also I am 100% certain Whites have been in our waters, but it is a fairly rare event. Great stories have been told yes, but not a single solitary picture, in the age of mobile phones as well. Someone would have got a 100% crystal clear picture by now, they havent, and that does not mean they are not in our waters, but to me it means its a SUPER rare event.
Why you so sure it was a porbeagle? Why don't you believe him? He actually described it well in detail. Its very likely that the occasional great whites visit British waters. Its not too cold for them, there is plenty of food for them and other sharks of the same family like porbeagles and makos are in British waters. The idea that great whites are in British waters is not only possible but even probable. Too many good eye witnesses to dismiss it.
A 5 metre porbeagle? The guy is a marine biologist who knows his sharks.
They are native to the waters.
A number of different shark species are known in British waters and the water temps are not outside the great white's range, Most knowledgeable people accept they are liklely occasional visitors to British waters and detailed sightings like this one further make the point.
Why are you so adamant it wasn't a great white though? It can well have been a great white despite no 'proof'. Becuase there is no 'proof' that doesn't mean it wasn't a great white.
The details and descriptions are way too clear. Many experts dont have a problem with this sighting. You are calling these people incompetent basically.
The behavior alone does not equate to mako or porbeagle and thats without the clearly recalled discriptions.
Seems like a great white to me.
Not at 5 metres.
Some fishermen however did experience the Shark swimming up to their boat, and it scared them when it got too close for comfort. Still, it would have been an awesome thing to have seen it myself, as it's only a once in a lifetime thing. But at the same time I know they're there, somewhere, waiting for that one unlucky person to be in the wrong place at the wrong time....there's really nothing to be afraid of.
axsactly
That was the Queen Mary... I launch one myelf every so often.
great whites have been tagged and tracked, one has been spotted close to british waters by close still couple hundred miles away.
For example, I read about an experienced professional big game fisherman in the US who caught a large shark. He was convinced it was a great white shark. He let it go because it is illegal to catch them in the US, but he took some photos of the animal next to the boat. The pictures were shown to a shark expert, who determined that it was actually a porbeagle. To bad for the fisherman, because it could have been a world record specimen lol.
I believe that it shows that even people used to catching similar sharks can be fooled. The guy in this video, marine biologist or not, does not mention the specific porbeagle characteristics, i.e. he does not say anything about whether the shark did not have those characteristics. That would be the first thing to look for - the white marking on the dorsal fin - it is very conspicuous. The shape of the fin of the porbeagle is rounded - the great white shark has a very characteristic hooked shape of the dorsal fin, but it is not always obvious. The fins can look different when viewed at an angle - it's easy to be fooled. Another thing - Porbeagles can look bigger than they are, because they're sometimes very broad looking, and they can have very tall dorsal fins - so, depending on the clarity of the water, how choppy it is and the viewing distance, they may give an impression of a larger size than their true size.
All that said, he did actually say one single thing, which I must admit does suggest a great white shark, namely that the eyes were small - mako sharks and especially porbeagle sharks have large eyes.
But yes i think it is possible it was a Great White.
Do you have any link to info about that shark tooth you mention?