Even sharks need someone to protect them

SCOTTISH waters will be a safer haven for Jaws's cousins after the government announced the appointment of an officer to protect threatened sharks.

James Thorburn will work closely with local sea anglers to set up and manage the new Scottish shark-tagging programme.

The 18,000 temporary post is being funded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Leader Euro-funding body, and will focus on key angling species in Argyll and the west coast of Scotland that are considered endangered, such as spurdog, tope and common skate.

Mr Thorburn previously carried out a study analysing data on common skate in Argyll as part of his MSc thesis. The data had been collected by anglers since 1975 and stored in the Glasgow Museum.

"We have such an amazing range of shark, skate and ray species off our coasts that most people aren't aware of – this project is a great opportunity to show everyone the rich diversity of fish life out there," he said. "There has been an impact on shark populations for a number of years through commercial fishing and fishing by catch, when they are accidentally caught in fishing gear.

"As sharks, skates and rays are relatively slow growing and late to mature it takes a long time for their numbers to recover. That's why it's important that we learn as much as we can about them so that we can look after our seas and conserve the sharks for the future."

With the help of anglers, who will tag the fish before returning them to the sea, the project will collect useful data on their movements and life history, as well as highlighting conservation issues to the public.

"As their name suggests, species such as the common skate were once very common around the coasts of the UK but they are now restricted to one or two areas," said Mr Thorburn.