As someone who lives in CA where they're everywhere, it's so interesting seeing a video where sightings of a great white are described like sightings of a thylacine, or bigfoot or nessie
I worked at the Marine Lab in Aberdeen from 1990-1999 as a Fisheries Scientist ( the same place Dr Greenstreet works ) and I took a phone call from a Shetland Salmon farm in 1995 of a shark attacking seals around the fish pens. The men I talked to all said the shark kept putting its head above the water to look for the seal ( when had been jumping out of the water onto the floating walkway around the pens ) and that they had never seen any shark like it before. There are a number of reports like this that never made it to the newspapers because the men and the companies they worked for just didn't want the hassle of the press. I would be far more amazed if White Sharks weren't in our waters than if they were
@@FukaiKokoroNope 100% a shark , the men that work at the Salmon farms know what an Orca looks like ( see them all the time ) and they knew this wasn't an Orca but a shark
Hi Kristian, back in 1979 i was in my last year of school at Falmouth Comp. Me and my pals decided one day to bunk off school and head to Grebe beach next to Durgan near Mawnan Smith villiage. My friend had a wet suit he had 'borrowed' and wanted to try out. I think it might have been his uncles. The rest of us just had normal swimming trunks on and it being April it was quite chilly in the water. In fact we had only been in for less than 5 minutes when the rest of us just sat on the beach shivering while our friend with the wet suit went back in the water. There were several large buoys about 100 yards off the beach. We thought them to be crab pots. My friend made his way towards to them when half way there one of the buoys started bouncing violently in the water and then amazingly submerged and a few seconds later erupted from the surface and practically flying out of the water. Just like if you hold a ball under water and let go. We all stood up wondering what was going on and realised something was not right and shouted to our friend to come back in. He was already on his way when something very large came close to the surface and displaced what was flat water creating a wave easily 3 to 4 foot. No dorsal fin or any part of what ever it was but it looked powerful.Then things died down and the buoy just floated away in the current. It had clearly been ripped off its mooring or crab pot. Then behind us two old guys came running up to us shouting and at our friend to get out of the water quickly. They seemed quite animated and concerned. The one was very nervouse and told us all off for being in the water after the events a few days before. We had no clue what he was on about. They had just been up on the small hill looking down at the water. So, a few days before one of them was in a rowing boat making his way to his larger fishing boat moored a lot further out. He said his rowing boat got hit by what he thought at first was another boat, then he saw the water swirling around him so thought maybe a dolphin. It span his boat around almost capsising him. Then the head of the shark came out of the water, just like the scene in Jaws and tried to bite his oar. The guy said he had never been more scared in his life and he quickly gained his senses and made his way straight back to the beach. Luckily it gets shallow fairly quickly. The guy said he was absolutely convinced it was a great white shark as it was very agressive. He had been fishing the area on holiday for donkeys years and never seen anything like it. And just like in Jaws after reporting it he was told to keep it to himself as it could scare people away from the area. Its a major tourist spot in the summer. So this guy and his mate we were then walking to Durgan next to where we were and from up on the hill they saw a huge shadow under the buoys the noticed our friend in the water which is why they ran down to warn him. They both think the crab pot was the target and it must have been full for what ever it was to take it like it did. The guy also said he was never going back in the water again after the incident. It definitely shook us up for sure. I've two scary shark stories, one from off St Agnes and the other off Ascention Island in the mid Atlantic, if you are interested.
Hi! Thanks for sharing this story - it’s awesome. I know Grebe beach well, my girlfriend and I regularly go to one that overlooks Grebe, a little bit closer to Mawnan Headland. I’ll be sure to read this story out to her next time she asks me to swim to the floating platform 😂😂
I would absolutely love a Shark Bytes special where Kristian heads off on a boat around the shores of Cornwall searching for a Great White Shark. Could quite literally be a Cornish version of Jaws, albeit with a happier ending for the shark and those on board the boat. Would be a great nod to Robert Shaw too, who went to school in Truro.
Remember those shows back in the day "looking for Nessie"? This could be a version of that, only "looking for Brucie". (What I imagine the British would call Bruce, the Great White Shark)
I'm from Ireland and agree there has been no effort to find great white sharks in our waters sure they probably don't stick around for long but great whites are known for migrating huge distances and our waters are the right temperature for great White's half the year round plus we have one of Europe's largest grey seal populations on the British isles
@@aaronkiely7642 You're not wrong. If the conditions are right and a shark has an extreme case of wander lust, then its not impossible for a white shark to BRIEFLY visit the British isles
Spyhopping great white sharks! One of my absolute favourite things to talk about. They really just take a peek at the surface, as if to say, "Hmm, what's going on up there." Have you done an episode on shark spyhopping yet? I'd love to hear more about the research around it.
@@SHARKBYTES could spy hopping be an attempt to see an injured animal above the surface? you said its rare for them to do it other then in baited waters, so could it be they see/smell the bait, but cant see the food source, so stick their head above water to see if there is an injured animal on the nearby rock(boat) orcas do a very similar thing, they pop their head out of the water to see seals on rocks/iceflows in order to judge how to approach it (somethign you can see a LOT in documentaries), perhaps great white do a similar thing
With the two sand tigers recently washing up it seems like we might be seeing the start of new species coming to our shores, I'd be amazed if great whites aren't spotted here in the next few years (I'm personally convinced they at least visit us from time to time anyway).
as someone who lives in the UK, I'm fascinated by the idea that we might have great whites in our waters though i'll admit i would be a bit nervous about swimming near them, they are great animals
I've heard of people bumping into them while diving here in Australia and nothing came of it. Not to say nothing would but most people who get attacked here are surfers.
there is a guy who films sharks with a drone off the west coast of Australia, seen a few of his videos on here when Shark Bytes reviews video of them, nervous to watch at times but mostly mean no harm unless we get too close for comfort
As an Australian who lives on the east coast I can tell you that you don’t want them in your waters.We had a swimmer bitten in half off Sydney about 12 months ago.There are more sharks here now than ever before.
For those who don't know Scotland, the water off the East coast (where I live) is significantly colder than the West: the West enjoys warming by the Gulf stream. We hardly ever get even basking sharks here. I guess it's not impossible that a great white could swim from the West coast to the East, but even in a heatwave our waters are pretty cold. If it was a GW, it was a pretty hardy individual!
About 20 yearsvago, I was fishing under the Forth Rail Bridge, three orcas swam past. I couldn't believe it. Neither did anybody I told about it, the next week there was a photo in the local paper. Never forget that, amazing to see.
Around 1993 a friend and I were fishing off Fistral beach in Newquay, off the rocks at to the left of the main beach. A shadow came stalking along the baseline of the rocks, it was high tide and we could clearly see the water below. The shadow looked exactly like a predatory shark, dark on top and moving unmistakably like a large Shark. We even shouted to the people on the beach but they didn't hear us. The same week and actually the same day, a mystery shark was spotted by a fishing vessel just off Newquay and the sighting made the national press. I couldnt say exactly what type of shark it was, but I've been fishing my whole life and know my species, it didn't seem like a Porbeagle, it was to wide and dark to be a Blue, too small for a Basking, didn't have the definition of a Mako or a Thresher. My assumption was that is was a Juvenile White around 6-7 Feet long but I'm underestimating as the Shark spotted at sea was said to be 12ft. I'll never be sure but it just didn't look or move like a native Shark. I do believe Whites visit, Langstone Harbour East Hayling island there's been sightings over the years and it's a perfect environment the harbour. And it ticks all the boxes with a growing seal population, warmer shallow waters and colder channels. If we get Tuna and Sunfish, why not Whites?
They all seem credible, especially the Scottish ones. 70 miles between the two sightings is a short swim for a GW. I am convinced that we have them in our waters at certain times of the year and now that mobiles phones have such good cameras we have the chance that the next sightings will be filmed. Great video and content.
Some of the most heavily fished/surveyed seas in the world for centuries, yet none ever caught even by accident?not 1 even dead gw washed up on our shores with its jaws still shown in a museum to commemorate the incredible rare find?brittania ruled the waves n youre telling me drake n nelson etc never noticed the great whites? Lol
I trust this channel for shark stuff over anything else, even documentary wise 😂 I am really intrigued to see what type of species we can get here, I will take a drive from the north to the south to just watch any view of sharks tbf ❤
I have absoloutely no interest in sharks or marine biology but UA-cam just popped up a video of yours and it was really interesting. I have shamelessly subbed, can't wait to hear more about Sharks.
My dad told me of a shark encounter off Ullapool while boat fishing. He had seen Great whites when I lived in OZ. The shark was around 16 feet he reckoned as the boat was around 20 feet or so. The shark swam along side the boat and rolled over to look he said. He said it was definitely a great white. This must have been in the 80s.
That's what I've said m8 we defo have GREAT WHITES UP HERE SCOTLAND IF CAN SWIM OF COAST NEW YORK IN WATER TEMP THEN CAN HERE AND WITH ABUNDANT SEAL POPULATION THERE IS FOKD FOR THEM A PLENTY
@@carolynnesbit8670 they will go anywere there food source and West Scotland has plenty seals so I'm sure they have to been around before or since .must be either starvin or rogue sharks that will come up Scotland the water isn't any colder than off coast new York state and there found there
Really great channel dude, very well presented. I’ve not long since got back from the Neptune islands in SA I went cage diving with great whites and it was fabulous, I’m a very lucky boy to have seen these incredible fishes up close and personal 🦈👍🏻
British waters definitely seem like a logical region for migrating white sharks to at least pass through from time to time. When water temperatures are ideal, I would think one would be attracted to the populations of seals, dolphin, and other sharks in Scotland and South England
Water temperatures in Scotland are only within a great whites range for about 2 months of the year. Although we have a good population of Seals, it's nowhere near enough to sustain an abundance of Great Whites. 100 to 150k seals on the East Coast of America, around 5k in Cornwall and the South West of England. There could be a couple, but not enough of a food source to make the journey worthwhile.
Hiya. As noted in other comments the West Coast of Scotland has higher temps. I distinctly remember being annoyed in 2012 because bathwater warm waters were keeping mackerel down in the depths where I couldn't catch them
Hi, I work offshore South East England, on windfarms and I've Thresher Sharks but not any Great Whites unfortunately, but there is so much food to sustain Great Whites, seals, Bass and so much Mackerel, they will make their home here one day, I'm sure. Thanks for the upload, fascinating stuff 👍.
I have caught a couple of juvenile great whites in Australia. It's pretty hard to distinguish between Mako and great whites in the water unless the great white is massive.
Kristian, you sir do the best merch ever!! (Came today) Totally worth the wait 😂 and the packaging is genius 😊 to anyone that hasn't already, I highly highly recommend the hoodies!! So so so good quality and the two pockets as opposed to one massive pocket is amazing 😊
Absolutely fantastic video. I'm Cornish and live in Perranporth. I'd Absolutely bet my life that GW's have swum these waters. The way those sightings are described are just so spooky. And with your brilliant deduction theories I'm sure you are also certain that we have had some here. There is nothing more privileged than to see an awesome (and that word used in its correct context) predator in their natural habitat. If I'm down Falmouth sometime I'll get you a pint pard.
I was in Padstow back in 2004 for a family holiday and my sister and I did a bit of crabbing on the edge of the harbour. While not catching a crab (though my sister caught 4...still and about that, lol) I brought the line up closer to the surface to see if a fish would be interested and two slim fish indeed came up and slowly glided around the bait and took some small nips they were silvery blue on top and lighter on the bottom. They were rather small, about 10-15cm and very clearly young but it was very surprising to see what I thought were sharks as they looked more nimble and clearly predatory as they circled the bait and took many attempts at it. I'm rambling now but I am not surprised Great Whites are appearing in Cornwall as you have a deal population and the waters get some warmth from the gulf stream and as waters continue to warm, it is more likely their numbers will continue to grow and as long as the seals stay, plenty of food.
Just found this channel and have subscribed. Excellent video! What a shame no-one takes good pictures of these sightings. We really do need strong photographic or video evidence and, alas, we never seem to get them!
I once spotted a river otter in a place where someone working for years there had never seen one once. I tried to take a picture but it dove under water and became a brown blur in my camera. I have to admire the skill, patience, and sheer luck of people who photograph wildlife in action.
I think #1 is a serious contender for a White. Those boys ( experienced fishermen ) know what they are talking about and although it is true they also love to embellish a yarn I reckon they definitely hooked what they believed to be a GW. However as you said, Makos can reach a good size and do look remarkably similar to their cousins. What a shame no one got a good look at the teeth!
I agree with you. There is a difference between embellishment and credibility. If you are embellishing a story you want it to sound plausible, so you may add a couple of 100 Kg, but you wouldn't change the species to something unheard of in British waters.
Ha! Watched them one after the other because, although *Hal* told me about the other video, I didn't want to watch it straight away because I was saving it for an Easter treat lol! Really happy that I've got two!! It's so nice you, Islander Outdoors and Hal link and recommend each others vids because you're all my favourites.
Hey buddy, great to see you back making vids to edutain us 😀Yeah, I think the occasional one probably does pass by the UK briefly but no need to get a bigger boat when sailing in Cornwall any time soon 😀
Great video brother! We had one wash up near we’re I live last week in Myrtle beach. Also 3 where caught by fellow land based shark fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico all within a month. It’s good to see peoples opinions changing from the jaws era to now. Hopefully the increase in sightings and catches shows the population is growing.
I was on a fishing trip in Northumberland around 2000,, we had a 15-18 foot GW circle our boat fir a good 10 mins. It was so close you could have touched it. If camera phones were around we wouldn't be having this debate now.
I’d heard of the sighting of the West coast of Scotland in a documentary and they’d planned on jumping in with the shark which in hindsight might have proven the hard way which type of shark it was.
@@SHARKBYTES one thing that doesn't sit well with me about that whole "sighting" was the interview after it, these are marine biologists and when recalling the sighting they said it occured roughly july (or whatever month it was) I'm sorry but if your a marine biologist and you've just observed a 5 metre great white shark in Scotland you'd remember the date/time down to a tee,bit fishy.....
@@Dstreet45Dk disagree, it would be the absolute pinnacle of there scientific careers, we remember dates like that it's human nature. I'm sceptical anyway,they were armed to the teeth with cameras as the whole reason they were out there was to photograph a dive and not ONE photo of jaws...
Great episode as always. Perfect analysis. I think great whites could follow warm water currents to the far north but I don't think they'd stick around for long
I'm 66yr. When I was around 10yr old and in holiday in Salcombe I saw a very large shark hanging from a jibber out side the life boat station. I remember it was grey and white but I wasn't allowed to get close as it stunk. Great white ? I don't know. It would have been early 60's and hot enought for me to get sun stroke. Its some thing I won't forget. Love your show.
The reel "clicks" is the drag. It allows the fish to take line without snapping it. It also gives more control over bigger/heavier fish,and causes less wear and tear on the reel.
The click is the clicker, it's a device that can be engaged with the reel in or out of gear that prevents the handle from counter rotating and gives an audible click when line is pulled from the spool, the drag is more or less silent on a multiplier.
Very interested in this and do believe that Great Whites are coming here, what about the sighting at Baggy point in north Devon have you heard of that one also herd of reporters of a possible Great White around Portsmouth 👍
I was a Commercial diver for the oil rigs, & salvage. I have seen plenty sharks in Scottish waters. In 19.99, thair were two mako sharks, in ayr harbour, the nearest ive seen a carcharodon carcharias. ((Great white) was in the Mediterranean sea, & it was 5meters, BIG FISH.
They were due to come last year, but never did. Matt from Islander outdoors did get in touch with someone from their team who said they’re still planning on coming, but I’m cynical…
@@nicohusky Yeah, there seems to be a difference in size and behaviour compared to other parts of the world, I too find it very intriguing but it might be politics that get in the way... tourism-wise, both Greece and Italy, aswell as Croatia, France and Spain all have a reason not to "scare" people, as shark research is considered bad for popular tourist destinations. Quite crazy to think we could learn so much about their habitat, behaviour and diet (regularly eating doplhins, bigger amberjacks, tuna and other pelagics etc. since there is basically no seals) yet ironically we do not want that to happen since people won't go swimming. I go spearfishing quite often and am passionate about it and the only way you get to deal with dangers and fears such as drowning, sharks, currents is to learn more about them and try to understand it all. For example here in Croatia stories and videos of bigger more aggressive species such as mako and gws get taken down and mostly just circulate between fishermen and local underpaid marine biologists since they are the ones that actually care. In Rijeka, Adriatic, 2 years ago 3-4m gw unconfirmed though, 1km away from public beach yet nobody knew in July, peak summer season, shipyard workers filmed it but the video is quite bad honestly, but you can see by movement and outlines it is either a mako or a great white must been following the ship or just decided to pop out of the blue.
I tend to think that they just come and go around cornwall rather then permanently stay here, It would make sense since they can raise and lower their body temperature. Just maybe they don’t come in so close and stay deeper
You get white sharks in Alaska where water tmps range from 2-11c and an attack was recorded in the Russian Far east about a decade ago at about the same latitude as southern Alaska. Scottish waters on the west coast get the Gulf Stream and range from 8-13c. I don’t think water temperature is the primary factor discouraging them, probably that they’re just so rare, probably driven to extinction by over fishing over the centuries where before no one was really looking for them.
Just discovered your channel and love it. I absolutely love great whites! Live in London, but spent much time in South Africa and had the privilege of seeing many great whites in the wild! And I really would love to think that a rogue great white has visited our waters!
@@SHARKBYTES just watched your review of The Shallows. I watched this movie as an inflight movie on the runway of JFK on a delayed take off. Learning so much from you. And agreed with your verdict. Making my way through all your other videos!
Hi Kristin. Just found your channel. Absolutely love it. I’ve been interested in sharks ever since I received a book by Ron and Valerie Taylor as a kid back in the early 80’s. I live in Edinburgh and was wondering if there are any shark species commonly encountered in the Firth of Forth? I hear of the odd encounter but they’re not common.
Hi! Great to hear you’re enjoying the channel. If I remember correctly a few years back there was a porbeagle shark in the Firth of Forth (I could be mistaken, we’re going back a good few years). But I imagine there’s a few shark species there, but perhaps not too common!
I used to go to Looe/Polperro every summer when I was younger. Lovely place. Got a photo of me with a blue shark. My father and I were fishing off Polperro harbour one evening we saw a good sized shark a little distance off.
I remember seeing an article in the local paper(Cornwall) about a bigggg shark 20miles of Falmouth bay, that ate a fish that was being reeled in, within the last 6 years I think
Hi! My undergraduate was in Zoology, specialising entirely in marine biology based modules. I think did a masters by research (like a mini PhD) in biological sciences, where my research was focused around the impact of plastic pollution on sharks. Since then I’ve done a variety of different shark research projects!
Just come across this channel. A bloke who was ex army knew of something that happened on an Oil rig off Aberdeen about 20 or so years ago. A rig diver was doing his underwater work & got called straight back & pulled up. He was being watched on the underwater cameras. He was circled twice by a 10 to 14ft Great White. Unfortunately the cameras wer not recording just there to monitor & watch the divers. 💁🏻♂️💁🏻♂️. 🦈🦈🦈
I don't know how cold is too cold for Great Whites since we have them here on Long Island practically year round. There are seals on our beaches during the winter months and people have reported that they've seen them chase the seals. But then again in the spring/summer months they're spotted from time to time cruising along the coast. Of course I don't get why its such big news since sharks are fish and fish live in the ocean but the local news channels always have a big announcement Shark Sighting. No matter what species they alway show a picture of a great white even if the shark sighted was a nurse or sand tiger. So why not off the coast of the UK? Funny with all the species of shark off Long Island, not one attack, well except those nips on the western end but none on the eastern end.
Crikey, I used to live on Scoraig just round the headland from Ullapool. Plenty of seals to be seen. We had to cross over the loch on the post boat to get there. I always wondered about the possibility of a GW in those waters. 😳
I once saw a perfect looking ‘squared off’ grey fin at least 2ft x 2ft in size in the sea at Newlyn/Mousehole when I was on the Scillonian, a few hundred yards from the coast. I didn’t know sharks had different shaped fins, and after looking them up recently, the only pics that match to what I saw are of the great white. This was on an overcast summers day evening sometime between 2010 and 2015.
Blue Fox sighting for me is most credible as it had Shark journalists on board who knew the difference between a mako, porbeagle, blue and basking sharks 🙌 I’ll be out there chumming this year 🌊
There’s no doubt in my mind that we have them from time to time. They’ll move from the med and Atlantic in the summer months for seals, tuna etc. probably just that few in numbers they’re very rarely seen. I know Ocearch are doing an eastern Atlantic and Med expedition soon, and part of that will take place around the UK and Ireland
It's interesting to me that there aren't prey carcasses washed up or attacks on people in the UK. Simply put, I think it's too intemperate for white sharks to make UK waters a regular haunt. Although i have no doubt that they make rare passes.
@@YortOKthere are prey remains that wash up. A few of which I’ve seen have been reported as either great whites or big mako, with it being impossible to say either way without teeth/teeth fragments
There’s a known population of white sharks off the coast of Alaska. If they can survive off Alaska one would think they theoretically could do okay off Scotland. Albeit the seal population off Alaska is much greater than Scotland. Great video!
Kris, just wondering if you included the Channel Islands? I'm Canadian in Vancouver but as my Mom was born in Guernsey, ( during the Occupation).I spent summers as a child ( in the 60s)& subsequent visits as an adult. (Day trips to Sark & Herm) The Islands are closer to France, and certainly attract holidaymakers to their beaches. Thanks for your terrific reporting & insights. 😊
My friend & I took at flight to Exeter from Toronto, rented a car & drove around Devon & Cornwall. Such a lovely area, (reminiscent to me of Guernsey) where you live.
My son saw a Great White shark swimming just off the beach at Ardnamurchan on the West Coast of Scotland, he was sitting on rocks not more than 20 feet away from it. It was July in the early 2000s, he was studying Marine Biology at the time, it was a very hot even the water wasn't as cold as it normally is.
I lived just north of Boston MA for years, in Winter we'd have snow on the beach with ice chunks washing up, in summer we'd have shark warnings on the TV. We'd also go out in the channels looking for them. There's no reason they wouldn't be here in the UK.
Hello Kristian, glad I found your channel. Very interesting & informative, & am now subscribed. I am a born & bred Cornishman living in Hayle. I was a lifeguard at Godrevy & Gwithian for 10 seasons starting in the early 90’s & spent my winters surfing in Indo, Oz, California, Mexico, SA & many other lush places & I have seen a few sharks in this time. And whilst I’ve never seen a Pointer in our waters, I did once see a Mako at Godrevy. When you spend that long looking at the sea & being in the sea, & in so many different countries, you get very good at spotting things in the water, & telling a mammal from a fish very quickly. When I first spotted this big shadow it was about 3m away at about 1-1.5m depth. When I paddled towards it I got a decent look before it shot off. It was a good 2.5m in length, classic mackerel shape & dark skinned. It was far to bulky for a Blue, too streamlined for a porbeagle & very obviously not a thresher. The only thing it could be to my mind was a Mako. What’s more is that we both saw through our bino’s off & on for the rest of the morning around the lighthouse & even closer in near the bathers. We discussed what to do about it & decided that if we tried to get people out of the water they’d either not believe us, or panic & we might have casualties on our hands. So we agreed to not say anything unless it started acting aggressively, & if it did attack someone without warning, we’d just deny ever having seen it! Is that wrong? 😂 As to Pointers in our waters; it now seems apparent that they’ve been in the med for some time. Whether there’s enough food there for them now is debatable, but they surely have been. And then I see no reason at all why the odd one or two might follow their noses into our waters during the summer months. I’ve seen two dead ones in SA & even in that state they were truly awesome creatures. And apparently I was surfing next to one at St Michael’s beach in SA when the shark nets were up during the sardine run, but I didn’t see it. Fortunately. I’m torn between wanting to see a live one of these magnificent fish in our waters, & hoping I never ever do.
I'll always remember visiting the little aquarium in Looe when I was a child because they'd often have a shark on ice that had been caught in the nets of a fishing vessel. Pretty cool to be able to look at and touch blues, mako and big tope. Despite only being about 20 mins away I haven't been down to Looe in a long time and have no idea if that place is still there
I remember in the early 70s the shark anglers coming in to Looe estuary with their catch! It was so exciting to see the sharks up close being weighed at around 60-80 lb they were just juveniles really! That part of it now horrifies me to think that they were killed as trophies then dumped in the estuary afterwards. Thankfully times have long since changed as the sharks caught get tagged and released now 👍 As for the museum! I remember there being one and it had a pickled Makos head in a huge jar!!! It’s long gone now though. Cheers.
I too remember folks going shark fishing from Looe in the early 70s. My dad and his friend took me with them sometime around 73/74. I was just a toddler. I loved it, no shark that day though. I remember the huge shark jaws in the aquarium. Fun times, though thankfully not so much shark fishing there now. I live on the west coast of Canada now. Plenty of GWs.
Great white sharks have been confirmed in the waters around Greenland so Scottish waters aren't a problem, also a tagged fish was tracked too the bay of biscay
Great white shark sightings in the British Isles seriously makes it feel like a local cryptid. There's loads of erroneous reports that can be easily explained, and just a handful of more likely stories. People really want it to be true that they're in the U.K., but the thing is it's more plausible to be possible in certain conditions than any megalodon or bigfoot sighting.
In this day and age, I'm gonna have to say, if there's no footage, it didn't happen. Everyone has a smartphone nowadays, only takes a sec to bring it out and take a photo, especially if the shark is hanging around the boat. Still, as fascinating as they might be, we can't forget that the biggest killers in British waters are rip tides, cold water shock and stupidity (ie jumping off a 50ft cliff into shallow water).
A great, really entertaining video. The last couple of sightings have a whiff of credibility about them because of the people involved, and there being some evidence. The rest feel like old fishermen’s tales, and the post Jaws syndrome of seeing any large shark and saying it’s a great white. I hope they aren’t there, as some idiots will only either want to hunt them, or worse, try and get a selfie with them. No shark deserves that.
Uk has the biggest seal population in Europe. Porbegal, Thresher and Macko are here, so it is possible. Great Whites are in Canadian waters, so I can see it here.
Great whites are more than capable of surviving out waters they one a few sharks that CAN regulate their body temperature to that of the surrounding waters even tiger sharks swim past out waters on the very rare occasions if tigers can swim through our waters a great white most certainly can main reason why we don't have them permanently is the lack of prey sources but it's very easily possible
In Cornwall (in Falmouth too so hi 👋) we have one of the largest seal populations in the UK, so in theory there is a vast supply of food, and it is also true that not to long ago there were verified reports of great whites further north bordering arctic regions, so the old thinking that they tend to stay in warmer waters has also been proven not always! So I guess anything is possible!
Another question RE: Mako teeth: sure they're pretty 'snaggletoothed', but don't large Makos (I think they're called 'granders' because they can weigh over 1000 pounds or around 500 kilos) able to feed on seals, sea lions, dolphins and swordfish? I would assume that the 'big ones' are capable of dismembering large prey items==perhaps the teeth are smooth but also have some sort of cutting edge?
I have to ask: A Mako in British waters? Is there a warm water current (a-la the Gulf Stream) in the area? I don't know how tolerant of cold water Makos are (as opposed to porbeagles/salmon sharks). I also don't know anything about the dynamics of the waters around the Cornwall.
@@stevepirie8130 Thanks; I have seen folks on film a Mako feeding on a harbor seal out of Monterey but that was quite some time ago. I guess they always seem to surprise us.
Shortfins are occasional visitors and certainly not here all the time. May have been more frequent visitors previously but don’t seem to be so much now.
Yes the Gulf Stream runs right up through Eastern Atlantic and Irish Sea. It gives the UK quite temperate waters considering it's Longitudinal location. Mako Sharks have long been a feature of UK waters. As an aside we occasionally gets some bizarrely warm water creatures here such as Smooth-toothed Sand Tigers, Turtles and even Sun Fish!
The Gulf Stream stretches north east across the Atlantic and reaches the UK. It's the reason we get very mild winters while being on the same latitude as Scandinavia.
Someone in your comments a while ago mentioned a historic photograph that showed a huge shark coming up a river next to Dover castle. I’d love to know more about this, and wether it was the small river in Dover they meant or the Stour.
Great video and a few of these sightings id never come across before. Worth noting that scotlands seal population is around 150,000 ao despite temperatures being borderline thay might be a pretty big draw. Scotland is also far more sparsely populated so opportunities to encounter any migrating GWS would be low
As someone who lives in CA where they're everywhere, it's so interesting seeing a video where sightings of a great white are described like sightings of a thylacine, or bigfoot or nessie
I’m from Calif as well and I just assumed they were all over the cold waters of the Atlantic like the Pacific.
I worked at the Marine Lab in Aberdeen from 1990-1999 as a Fisheries Scientist ( the same place Dr Greenstreet works ) and I took a phone call from a Shetland Salmon farm in 1995 of a shark attacking seals around the fish pens. The men I talked to all said the shark kept putting its head above the water to look for the seal ( when had been jumping out of the water onto the floating walkway around the pens ) and that they had never seen any shark like it before. There are a number of reports like this that never made it to the newspapers because the men and the companies they worked for just didn't want the hassle of the press. I would be far more amazed if White Sharks weren't in our waters than if they were
Anymore stories?
Sounds like an orca. Weird.
@@FukaiKokoroNope 100% a shark , the men that work at the Salmon farms know what an Orca looks like ( see them all the time ) and they knew this wasn't an Orca but a shark
@@DavieTait Okay... That's fine. I've just never heard of sharks spy hopping. Didn't mean any offense
@@FukaiKokoro Most sharks don't but great whites do. One of just two/three species that do I think.
Hi Kristian, back in 1979 i was in my last year of school at Falmouth Comp. Me and my pals decided one day to bunk off school and head to Grebe beach next to Durgan near Mawnan Smith villiage. My friend had a wet suit he had 'borrowed' and wanted to try out. I think it might have been his uncles. The rest of us just had normal swimming trunks on and it being April it was quite chilly in the water. In fact we had only been in for less than 5 minutes when the rest of us just sat on the beach shivering while our friend with the wet suit went back in the water. There were several large buoys about 100 yards off the beach. We thought them to be crab pots. My friend made his way towards to them when half way there one of the buoys started bouncing violently in the water and then amazingly submerged and a few seconds later erupted from the surface and practically flying out of the water. Just like if you hold a ball under water and let go.
We all stood up wondering what was going on and realised something was not right and shouted to our friend to come back in. He was already on his way when something very large came close to the surface and displaced what was flat water creating a wave easily 3 to 4 foot. No dorsal fin or any part of what ever it was but it looked powerful.Then things died down and the buoy just floated away in the current. It had clearly been ripped off its mooring or crab pot.
Then behind us two old guys came running up to us shouting and at our friend to get out of the water quickly. They seemed quite animated and concerned. The one was very nervouse and told us all off for being in the water after the events a few days before. We had no clue what he was on about. They had just been up on the small hill looking down at the water. So, a few days before one of them was in a rowing boat making his way to his larger fishing boat moored a lot further out. He said his rowing boat got hit by what he thought at first was another boat, then he saw the water swirling around him so thought maybe a dolphin. It span his boat around almost capsising him. Then the head of the shark came out of the water, just like the scene in Jaws and tried to bite his oar. The guy said he had never been more scared in his life and he quickly gained his senses and made his way straight back to the beach. Luckily it gets shallow fairly quickly. The guy said he was absolutely convinced it was a great white shark as it was very agressive. He had been fishing the area on holiday for donkeys years and never seen anything like it. And just like in Jaws after reporting it he was told to keep it to himself as it could scare people away from the area. Its a major tourist spot in the summer.
So this guy and his mate we were then walking to Durgan next to where we were and from up on the hill they saw a huge shadow under the buoys the noticed our friend in the water which is why they ran down to warn him. They both think the crab pot was the target and it must have been full for what ever it was to take it like it did.
The guy also said he was never going back in the water again after the incident. It definitely shook us up for sure.
I've two scary shark stories, one from off St Agnes and the other off Ascention Island in the mid Atlantic, if you are interested.
Hi! Thanks for sharing this story - it’s awesome. I know Grebe beach well, my girlfriend and I regularly go to one that overlooks Grebe, a little bit closer to Mawnan Headland. I’ll be sure to read this story out to her next time she asks me to swim to the floating platform 😂😂
I'm glad I didn't know this when I camped a St Agnes for 2 weeks, and island hopped on the boats.
I would absolutely love a Shark Bytes special where Kristian heads off on a boat around the shores of Cornwall searching for a Great White Shark. Could quite literally be a Cornish version of Jaws, albeit with a happier ending for the shark and those on board the boat.
Would be a great nod to Robert Shaw too, who went to school in Truro.
Would absolutely love to do this, I reckon I could get Matt from Islander Outdoors involved too!
Remember those shows back in the day "looking for Nessie"? This could be a version of that, only "looking for Brucie". (What I imagine the British would call Bruce, the Great White Shark)
That would be pretty cool to see.
I'm from Ireland and agree there has been no effort to find great white sharks in our waters sure they probably don't stick around for long but great whites are known for migrating huge distances and our waters are the right temperature for great White's half the year round plus we have one of Europe's largest grey seal populations on the British isles
@@aaronkiely7642 You're not wrong. If the conditions are right and a shark has an extreme case of wander lust, then its not impossible for a white shark to BRIEFLY visit the British isles
Spyhopping great white sharks! One of my absolute favourite things to talk about. They really just take a peek at the surface, as if to say, "Hmm, what's going on up there."
Have you done an episode on shark spyhopping yet? I'd love to hear more about the research around it.
I should definitely do an in-depth video on spyhopping, I’ll make sure it’s on the list!
@@SHARKBYTES , Great , looking forward to that.
@@SHARKBYTES could spy hopping be an attempt to see an injured animal above the surface?
you said its rare for them to do it other then in baited waters, so could it be they see/smell the bait, but cant see the food source, so stick their head above water to see if there is an injured animal on the nearby rock(boat)
orcas do a very similar thing, they pop their head out of the water to see seals on rocks/iceflows in order to judge how to approach it (somethign you can see a LOT in documentaries), perhaps great white do a similar thing
Great suggestion!
I didn't know sharks did this. I thought it was something only killer whales did, especially while hunting. So cool to know now!
With the two sand tigers recently washing up it seems like we might be seeing the start of new species coming to our shores, I'd be amazed if great whites aren't spotted here in the next few years (I'm personally convinced they at least visit us from time to time anyway).
as someone who lives in the UK, I'm fascinated by the idea that we might have great whites in our waters though i'll admit i would be a bit nervous about swimming near them, they are great animals
I'd love them to be here! What a treat
I've heard of people bumping into them while diving here in Australia and nothing came of it. Not to say nothing would but most people who get attacked here are surfers.
there is a guy who films sharks with a drone off the west coast of Australia, seen a few of his videos on here when Shark Bytes reviews video of them, nervous to watch at times but mostly mean no harm unless we get too close for comfort
As an Australian who lives on the east coast I can tell you that you don’t want them in your waters.We had a swimmer bitten in half off Sydney about 12 months ago.There are more sharks here now than ever before.
@@SHARKBYTES Id be super stoked.
The most significant one has to be the marine biologists that went diving in Scotland and both said it was definitely a white pointer
What an absolute pleasure to have your knowledge and expertise available to us. Thank you.
You are more than welcome Maggie - glad to hear you're enjoying Shark Bytes
Your videos are so high-quality and entertaining!
Thanks so much, glad you're enjoying the channel!
@@SHARKBYTES This is the way. I have spoken.
For those who don't know Scotland, the water off the East coast (where I live) is significantly colder than the West: the West enjoys warming by the Gulf stream. We hardly ever get even basking sharks here. I guess it's not impossible that a great white could swim from the West coast to the East, but even in a heatwave our waters are pretty cold. If it was a GW, it was a pretty hardy individual!
Plenty Porbeagles in the east of Scotland/England so absolutely no reason that their close relative Jaws could not venture into the north sea.
Great whites definitely prefer warmer waters
About 20 yearsvago, I was fishing under the Forth Rail Bridge, three orcas swam past. I couldn't believe it. Neither did anybody I told about it, the next week there was a photo in the local paper. Never forget that, amazing to see.
@@CIC-qm9zt Oh wow! I saw a humpback off Burghead about 2 years ago - my favourite whales. I couldn't watch the video of one being killed by a shark.
I saw a video of a White Shark off the coast of Alaska and it definitely had some mass to it
Around 1993 a friend and I were fishing off Fistral beach in Newquay, off the rocks at to the left of the main beach. A shadow came stalking along the baseline of the rocks, it was high tide and we could clearly see the water below. The shadow looked exactly like a predatory shark, dark on top and moving unmistakably like a large Shark. We even shouted to the people on the beach but they didn't hear us. The same week and actually the same day, a mystery shark was spotted by a fishing vessel just off Newquay and the sighting made the national press. I couldnt say exactly what type of shark it was, but I've been fishing my whole life and know my species, it didn't seem like a Porbeagle, it was to wide and dark to be a Blue, too small for a Basking, didn't have the definition of a Mako or a Thresher. My assumption was that is was a Juvenile White around 6-7 Feet long but I'm underestimating as the Shark spotted at sea was said to be 12ft. I'll never be sure but it just didn't look or move like a native Shark. I do believe Whites visit, Langstone Harbour East Hayling island there's been sightings over the years and it's a perfect environment the harbour. And it ticks all the boxes with a growing seal population, warmer shallow waters and colder channels. If we get Tuna and Sunfish, why not Whites?
Porbeagle I expect
@@nickgoode8579 Wasn't a Porbeagle, to wide and not pointy snout!
Sounds right.
Liar
No need to mako big deal about it
They all seem credible, especially the Scottish ones. 70 miles between the two sightings is a short swim for a GW. I am convinced that we have them in our waters at certain times of the year and now that mobiles phones have such good cameras we have the chance that the next sightings will be filmed. Great video and content.
Some of the most heavily fished/surveyed seas in the world for centuries, yet none ever caught even by accident?not 1 even dead gw washed up on our shores with its jaws still shown in a museum to commemorate the incredible rare find?brittania ruled the waves n youre telling me drake n nelson etc never noticed the great whites? Lol
Get ya drone out, laddie.
@@petersmith5915 It could be that they are just that rare in combination with climate change.
I trust this channel for shark stuff over anything else, even documentary wise 😂 I am really intrigued to see what type of species we can get here, I will take a drive from the north to the south to just watch any view of sharks tbf ❤
I have absoloutely no interest in sharks or marine biology but UA-cam just popped up a video of yours and it was really interesting.
I have shamelessly subbed, can't wait to hear more about Sharks.
My dad told me of a shark encounter off Ullapool while boat fishing. He had seen Great whites when I lived in OZ. The shark was around 16 feet he reckoned as the boat was around 20 feet or so. The shark swam along side the boat and rolled over to look he said. He said it was definitely a great white. This must have been in the 80s.
That's what I've said m8 we defo have GREAT WHITES UP HERE SCOTLAND IF CAN SWIM OF COAST NEW YORK IN WATER TEMP THEN CAN HERE AND WITH ABUNDANT SEAL POPULATION THERE IS FOKD FOR THEM A PLENTY
I remember a Great White was sighted swimming up the West coast of Scotland, in the 80's! They do swim in colder waters, not just warm or tropical!
Our waters are in the tolerance zone for them. They can be found of Nova Scotia and I'm sure Thier water temps are comparable to ours.
@@carolynnesbit8670 they will go anywere there food source and West Scotland has plenty seals so I'm sure they have to been around before or since .must be either starvin or rogue sharks that will come up Scotland the water isn't any colder than off coast new York state and there found there
Barry Howes
I remember my Father mentioned that he saw a great white from a ship coming from Durban said it was enormous possibly more than 24 ft !
Really great channel dude, very well presented. I’ve not long since got back from the Neptune islands in SA I went cage diving with great whites and it was fabulous, I’m a very lucky boy to have seen these incredible fishes up close and personal 🦈👍🏻
British waters definitely seem like a logical region for migrating white sharks to at least pass through from time to time. When water temperatures are ideal, I would think one would be attracted to the populations of seals, dolphin, and other sharks in Scotland and South England
Absolutely. Im sure there are more grey seals in NE Scotland than the rest of Europe.
Water temperatures in Scotland are only within a great whites range for about 2 months of the year. Although we have a good population of Seals, it's nowhere near enough to sustain an abundance of Great Whites. 100 to 150k seals on the East Coast of America, around 5k in Cornwall and the South West of England. There could be a couple, but not enough of a food source to make the journey worthwhile.
Hiya. As noted in other comments the West Coast of Scotland has higher temps. I distinctly remember being annoyed in 2012 because bathwater warm waters were keeping mackerel down in the depths where I couldn't catch them
Hi, I work offshore South East England, on windfarms and I've Thresher Sharks but not any Great Whites unfortunately, but there is so much food to sustain Great Whites, seals, Bass and so much Mackerel, they will make their home here one day, I'm sure. Thanks for the upload, fascinating stuff 👍.
You should make some content when you go work on the turbines? That would be awesome lol
Greetings from the Northern East Coast of America. Enjoyed both parts in this series and look forward to more.
I have caught a couple of juvenile great whites in Australia. It's pretty hard to distinguish between Mako and great whites in the water unless the great white is massive.
Don't they have very different teeth?
Kristian, you sir do the best merch ever!! (Came today) Totally worth the wait 😂 and the packaging is genius 😊 to anyone that hasn't already, I highly highly recommend the hoodies!! So so so good quality and the two pockets as opposed to one massive pocket is amazing 😊
Super glad you're loving the merch!!
Brilliantly done, thanks mate. Infrequent visitors is what I'm going to say.
Back in the 80's there were two Great Whites swimming off the IOW Coast, I know as I was there and saw them, it was all over the news at the time.
Really enjoyed this season of videos and wondering if you would ever do a mini series on the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916
I can definitely look into it, shroud of mystery over those attacks for sure
@@SHARKBYTES it be nice to hear it from a point of a shark scientist
I've always been of the opinion that they're here - and that photo genuinely made the hairs stand up on my arms!
Absolutely fantastic video. I'm Cornish and live in Perranporth. I'd Absolutely bet my life that GW's have swum these waters. The way those sightings are described are just so spooky. And with your brilliant deduction theories I'm sure you are also certain that we have had some here.
There is nothing more privileged than to see an awesome (and that word used in its correct context) predator in their natural habitat.
If I'm down Falmouth sometime I'll get you a pint pard.
Always happy for a pint fellow pard!! 🍺
I was in Padstow back in 2004 for a family holiday and my sister and I did a bit of crabbing on the edge of the harbour. While not catching a crab (though my sister caught 4...still and about that, lol) I brought the line up closer to the surface to see if a fish would be interested and two slim fish indeed came up and slowly glided around the bait and took some small nips they were silvery blue on top and lighter on the bottom. They were rather small, about 10-15cm and very clearly young but it was very surprising to see what I thought were sharks as they looked more nimble and clearly predatory as they circled the bait and took many attempts at it. I'm rambling now but I am not surprised Great Whites are appearing in Cornwall as you have a deal population and the waters get some warmth from the gulf stream and as waters continue to warm, it is more likely their numbers will continue to grow and as long as the seals stay, plenty of food.
Just found this channel and have subscribed. Excellent video!
What a shame no-one takes good pictures of these sightings. We really do need strong photographic or video evidence and, alas, we never seem to get them!
Thats because there are no great whites in the UK's waters.
Welcome to Shark Bytes Richard, hope you enjoy the channel!
I once spotted a river otter in a place where someone working for years there had never seen one once. I tried to take a picture but it dove under water and became a brown blur in my camera. I have to admire the skill, patience, and sheer luck of people who photograph wildlife in action.
There are some very good words in this episode! Spyhopping and Rubby Dubbies. Fantastic.
I think #1 is a serious contender for a White. Those boys ( experienced fishermen ) know what they are talking about and although it is true they also love to embellish a yarn I reckon they definitely hooked what they believed to be a GW. However as you said, Makos can reach a good size and do look remarkably similar to their cousins. What a shame no one got a good look at the teeth!
I agree with you. There is a difference between embellishment and credibility. If you are embellishing a story you want it to sound plausible, so you may add a couple of 100 Kg, but you wouldn't change the species to something unheard of in British waters.
Very interesting & thanks for posting! 🌿
Ha! Watched them one after the other because, although *Hal* told me about the other video, I didn't want to watch it straight away because I was saving it for an Easter treat lol! Really happy that I've got two!! It's so nice you, Islander Outdoors and Hal link and recommend each others vids because you're all my favourites.
Portbeigle a cousin off the great white shark look very similar but smaller would explain a lot off sightings
Hey buddy, great to see you back making vids to edutain us 😀Yeah, I think the occasional one probably does pass by the UK briefly but no need to get a bigger boat when sailing in Cornwall any time soon 😀
Great video brother! We had one wash up near we’re I live last week in Myrtle beach. Also 3 where caught by fellow land based shark fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico all within a month. It’s good to see peoples opinions changing from the jaws era to now. Hopefully the increase in sightings and catches shows the population is growing.
Big up the Falmouth massive 😂😂 been watching for a while didn’t realise you were based in Falmouth..!! Keep up the good work
Great video Christian - enjoyable as ever 👍
Excellent rundown on the potential GW sightings in the waters off the UK!
I was on a fishing trip in Northumberland around 2000,, we had a 15-18 foot GW circle our boat fir a good 10 mins. It was so close you could have touched it. If camera phones were around we wouldn't be having this debate now.
I’d never heard of the Lybster siting, wow, that’s mind blowing! Could all the orca pods be keeping them away?
It definitely would be playing a role!
Love this channel, your presentation is great and super entertaining!
I’d heard of the sighting of the West coast of Scotland in a documentary and they’d planned on jumping in with the shark which in hindsight might have proven the hard way which type of shark it was.
They had some decent underwater camera gear with them that day as well I believe, they’d have proved it for sure with an underwater picture!!
@@SHARKBYTES or possibly some bite mark analysis...😬
@@SHARKBYTES one thing that doesn't sit well with me about that whole "sighting" was the interview after it, these are marine biologists and when recalling the sighting they said it occured roughly july (or whatever month it was)
I'm sorry but if your a marine biologist and you've just observed a 5 metre great white shark in Scotland you'd remember the date/time down to a tee,bit fishy.....
@@rawdog314for some people the exact time is irrelevant you know? It happened and thats cool, but don't ask when because i don't give a damn
@@Dstreet45Dk disagree, it would be the absolute pinnacle of there scientific careers, we remember dates like that it's human nature.
I'm sceptical anyway,they were armed to the teeth with cameras as the whole reason they were out there was to photograph a dive and not ONE photo of jaws...
At a whopping 32.9 Celsius 😂.. laughs in Australian.. so it's nearly winter then? Maybe early spring, mid autumn?
Great episode as always. Perfect analysis. I think great whites could follow warm water currents to the far north but I don't think they'd stick around for long
Commenting because it helps and I like these videos!
I’m here now, but not leaving for part 1 until I’m good & ready.
I'm 66yr. When I was around 10yr old and in holiday in Salcombe I saw a very large shark hanging from a jibber out side the life boat station. I remember it was grey and white but I wasn't allowed to get close as it stunk. Great white ? I don't know. It would have been early 60's and hot enought for me to get sun stroke. Its some thing I won't forget. Love your show.
The ad for this video was actually for shark vacuum 😂made me laugh so fitting 😂👌🏻
The reel "clicks" is the drag. It allows the fish to take line without snapping it. It also gives more control over bigger/heavier fish,and causes less wear and tear on the reel.
The click is the clicker, it's a device that can be engaged with the reel in or out of gear that prevents the handle from counter rotating and gives an audible click when line is pulled from the spool, the drag is more or less silent on a multiplier.
Big multireels have a clicker, it's not the same as the drag, which they have also.
Very interested in this and do believe that Great Whites are coming here, what about the sighting at Baggy point in north Devon have you heard of that one also herd of reporters of a possible Great White around Portsmouth 👍
I was a Commercial diver for the oil rigs, & salvage. I have seen plenty sharks in Scottish waters. In 19.99, thair were two mako sharks, in ayr harbour, the nearest ive seen a carcharodon carcharias. ((Great white) was in the Mediterranean sea, & it was 5meters, BIG FISH.
Very interesting deep dive! ❤
New sub great content thank you
Welcome to Shark Bytes! Make sure to go and check out all our old content, i'm sure you'll love it
Welcome to the Shark Bytes family here! 😊
Just found this channel love it well done! 🦈
Love this channel find all sharks fascinating
really glad to hear you're enjoying the channel, sharks are great
Great video. Very interesting indeed! Isn't Ocearch supposedly coming to the UK to search our waters for GWs?
They were due to come last year, but never did. Matt from Islander outdoors did get in touch with someone from their team who said they’re still planning on coming, but I’m cynical…
@@SHARKBYTES Yep, me too.
they said the same thing about mediterranean but nothing, and med has quite a few of them :/
@@mpk6100 Yep. I've read the Med has large and aggressive ones too. If they say they're going to do it then they should and not just pay lip service.
@@nicohusky Yeah, there seems to be a difference in size and behaviour compared to other parts of the world, I too find it very intriguing but it might be politics that get in the way... tourism-wise, both Greece and Italy, aswell as Croatia, France and Spain all have a reason not to "scare" people, as shark research is considered bad for popular tourist destinations. Quite crazy to think we could learn so much about their habitat, behaviour and diet (regularly eating doplhins, bigger amberjacks, tuna and other pelagics etc. since there is basically no seals) yet ironically we do not want that to happen since people won't go swimming. I go spearfishing quite often and am passionate about it and the only way you get to deal with dangers and fears such as drowning, sharks, currents is to learn more about them and try to understand it all. For example here in Croatia stories and videos of bigger more aggressive species such as mako and gws get taken down and mostly just circulate between fishermen and local underpaid marine biologists since they are the ones that actually care. In Rijeka, Adriatic, 2 years ago 3-4m gw unconfirmed though, 1km away from public beach yet nobody knew in July, peak summer season, shipyard workers filmed it but the video is quite bad honestly, but you can see by movement and outlines it is either a mako or a great white must been following the ship or just decided to pop out of the blue.
I tend to think that they just come and go around cornwall rather then permanently stay here, It would make sense since they can raise and lower their body temperature. Just maybe they don’t come in so close and stay deeper
You get white sharks in Alaska where water tmps range from 2-11c and an attack was recorded in the Russian Far east about a decade ago at about the same latitude as southern Alaska.
Scottish waters on the west coast get the Gulf Stream and range from 8-13c. I don’t think water temperature is the primary factor discouraging them, probably that they’re just so rare, probably driven to extinction by over fishing over the centuries where before no one was really looking for them.
There have been great white shark attacks in Nova Scotia, Canadá. There could definetly be in Scotland
They've also been tracked as far south as Macquarie Island which is sub-Antarctic
Good points.
Sure you’re not thinking of Salmon Sharks? Alaska has loads of those cause, well…Salmon. They look a little like juvenile Great White Sharks.
Great video, really interesting! Thank you 💙🦈
Just discovered your channel and love it. I absolutely love great whites! Live in London, but spent much time in South Africa and had the privilege of seeing many great whites in the wild! And I really would love to think that a rogue great white has visited our waters!
Glad to hear you're enjoying Shark Bytes Darren!
@@SHARKBYTES just watched your review of The Shallows. I watched this movie as an inflight movie on the runway of JFK on a delayed take off. Learning so much from you. And agreed with your verdict. Making my way through all your other videos!
Awesome show bud, love the shark fishing stories 👍👍
Hi Kristin. Just found your channel. Absolutely love it. I’ve been interested in sharks ever since I received a book by Ron and Valerie Taylor as a kid back in the early 80’s. I live in Edinburgh and was wondering if there are any shark species commonly encountered in the Firth of Forth? I hear of the odd encounter but they’re not common.
Hi! Great to hear you’re enjoying the channel. If I remember correctly a few years back there was a porbeagle shark in the Firth of Forth (I could be mistaken, we’re going back a good few years). But I imagine there’s a few shark species there, but perhaps not too common!
Yeah some fishermen had one tangle in there lobster pots. I havnt heard of any others. Thanks for the reply.
I used to go to Looe/Polperro every summer when I was younger. Lovely place. Got a photo of me with a blue shark. My father and I were fishing off Polperro harbour one evening we saw a good sized shark a little distance off.
I remember seeing an article in the local paper(Cornwall) about a bigggg shark 20miles of Falmouth bay, that ate a fish that was being reeled in, within the last 6 years I think
Would love to see this if you could ever find it again!
Best shark thingy I watch good work keep it up x
Great video mate
As someone interested in marine biology, I am curious what a levels/degree you did
Hi! My undergraduate was in Zoology, specialising entirely in marine biology based modules. I think did a masters by research (like a mini PhD) in biological sciences, where my research was focused around the impact of plastic pollution on sharks. Since then I’ve done a variety of different shark research projects!
I agree with all sightings. It seems a given to me that they are an occasional visitor with the warmth of the Gulf Stream making the habitat viable.
Just come across this channel. A bloke who was ex army knew of something that happened on an Oil rig off Aberdeen about 20 or so years ago.
A rig diver was doing his underwater work & got called straight back & pulled up.
He was being watched on the underwater cameras.
He was circled twice by a 10 to 14ft Great White.
Unfortunately the cameras wer not recording just there to monitor & watch the divers. 💁🏻♂️💁🏻♂️. 🦈🦈🦈
I don't know how cold is too cold for Great Whites since we have them here on Long Island practically year round. There are seals on our beaches during the winter months and people have reported that they've seen them chase the seals. But then again in the spring/summer months they're spotted from time to time cruising along the coast. Of course I don't get why its such big news since sharks are fish and fish live in the ocean but the local news channels always have a big announcement Shark Sighting. No matter what species they alway show a picture of a great white even if the shark sighted was a nurse or sand tiger. So why not off the coast of the UK? Funny with all the species of shark off Long Island, not one attack, well except those nips on the western end but none on the eastern end.
Crikey, I used to live on Scoraig just round the headland from Ullapool. Plenty of seals to be seen. We had to cross over the loch on the post boat to get there. I always wondered about the possibility of a GW in those waters. 😳
Hi please do a video about great whites in the mediterranean, Adriatic please 🙏
I once saw a perfect looking ‘squared off’ grey fin at least 2ft x 2ft in size in the sea at Newlyn/Mousehole when I was on the Scillonian, a few hundred yards from the coast. I didn’t know sharks had different shaped fins, and after looking them up recently, the only pics that match to what I saw are of the great white. This was on an overcast summers day evening sometime between 2010 and 2015.
Wow how cool is that
Blue Fox sighting for me is most credible as it had Shark journalists on board who knew the difference between a mako, porbeagle, blue and basking sharks 🙌 I’ll be out there chumming this year 🌊
There’s no doubt in my mind that we have them from time to time. They’ll move from the med and Atlantic in the summer months for seals, tuna etc. probably just that few in numbers they’re very rarely seen. I know Ocearch are doing an eastern Atlantic and Med expedition soon, and part of that will take place around the UK and Ireland
It's interesting to me that there aren't prey carcasses washed up or attacks on people in the UK. Simply put, I think it's too intemperate for white sharks to make UK waters a regular haunt. Although i have no doubt that they make rare passes.
@@YortOKthere are prey remains that wash up. A few of which I’ve seen have been reported as either great whites or big mako, with it being impossible to say either way without teeth/teeth fragments
Love the video and channel 🤙
Nice video, v interesting! I did my PhD in Falmouth, used to swim most mornings in Gyllingvase, glad I didn't know about the Falmouth GW then 😄
Love a Gylly beach swim!
There’s a known population of white sharks off the coast of Alaska. If they can survive off Alaska one would think they theoretically could do okay off Scotland. Albeit the seal population off Alaska is much greater than Scotland. Great video!
Where at in Alaska ? That's interesting, 9
Scotland has a big population of seals
They’re known to be in the waters off of Newfoundland. I don’t see any reason they haven’t been in the waters of the UK.
Thanks mate, we’ve all seen them down here in Cornwall didn’t realise how many people have seen them until I started asking
Kris, just wondering if you included the Channel Islands? I'm Canadian in Vancouver but as my Mom was born in Guernsey, ( during the Occupation).I spent summers as a child ( in the 60s)& subsequent visits as an adult. (Day trips to Sark & Herm) The Islands are closer to France, and certainly attract holidaymakers to their beaches. Thanks for your terrific reporting & insights. 😊
My friend & I took at flight to Exeter from Toronto, rented a car & drove around Devon & Cornwall. Such a lovely area, (reminiscent to me of Guernsey) where you live.
LOL that white shark got a free Uber ride from George as hes like buddy im getting my net back one way or another! Great video friend! :)
I was unable to find any hard data for the water temperatures in Ullapool that summer, but estimates point north of 16C
I’d definitely say it was upwards of 16C that summer!
Great video, this is always a really interesting topic. I can't see any reason why they don't occasionally wonder into our waters.
My son saw a Great White shark swimming just off the beach at Ardnamurchan on the West Coast of Scotland, he was sitting on rocks not more than 20 feet away from it. It was July in the early 2000s, he was studying Marine Biology at the time, it was a very hot even the water wasn't as cold as it normally is.
I lived just north of Boston MA for years, in Winter we'd have snow on the beach with ice chunks washing up, in summer we'd have shark warnings on the TV. We'd also go out in the channels looking for them. There's no reason they wouldn't be here in the UK.
Hello Kristian, glad I found your channel. Very interesting & informative, & am now subscribed.
I am a born & bred Cornishman living in Hayle. I was a lifeguard at Godrevy & Gwithian for 10 seasons starting in the early 90’s & spent my winters surfing in Indo, Oz, California, Mexico, SA & many other lush places & I have seen a few sharks in this time. And whilst I’ve never seen a Pointer in our waters, I did once see a Mako at Godrevy. When you spend that long looking at the sea & being in the sea, & in so many different countries, you get very good at spotting things in the water, & telling a mammal from a fish very quickly.
When I first spotted this big shadow it was about 3m away at about 1-1.5m depth. When I paddled towards it I got a decent look before it shot off. It was a good 2.5m in length, classic mackerel shape & dark skinned. It was far to bulky for a Blue, too streamlined for a porbeagle & very obviously not a thresher. The only thing it could be to my mind was a Mako. What’s more is that we both saw through our bino’s off & on for the rest of the morning around the lighthouse & even closer in near the bathers. We discussed what to do about it & decided that if we tried to get people out of the water they’d either not believe us, or panic & we might have casualties on our hands. So we agreed to not say anything unless it started acting aggressively, & if it did attack someone without warning, we’d just deny ever having seen it! Is that wrong? 😂
As to Pointers in our waters; it now seems apparent that they’ve been in the med for some time. Whether there’s enough food there for them now is debatable, but they surely have been. And then I see no reason at all why the odd one or two might follow their noses into our waters during the summer months.
I’ve seen two dead ones in SA & even in that state they were truly awesome creatures. And apparently I was surfing next to one at St Michael’s beach in SA when the shark nets were up during the sardine run, but I didn’t see it. Fortunately.
I’m torn between wanting to see a live one of these magnificent fish in our waters, & hoping I never ever do.
Welcome to the channel! And thanks so much for sharing your thoughts/stories 😁🦈
I'll always remember visiting the little aquarium in Looe when I was a child because they'd often have a shark on ice that had been caught in the nets of a fishing vessel. Pretty cool to be able to look at and touch blues, mako and big tope. Despite only being about 20 mins away I haven't been down to Looe in a long time and have no idea if that place is still there
I remember in the early 70s the shark anglers coming in to Looe estuary with their catch! It was so exciting to see the sharks up close being weighed at around 60-80 lb they were just juveniles really! That part of it now horrifies me to think that they were killed as trophies then dumped in the estuary afterwards.
Thankfully times have long since changed as the sharks caught get tagged and released now 👍
As for the museum! I remember there being one and it had a pickled Makos head in a huge jar!!!
It’s long gone now though. Cheers.
I can also remember going to the little aquarium in Looe and seeing a shark on ice in the early 90s, I was only thinking about it last week.
I too remember folks going shark fishing from Looe in the early 70s. My dad and his friend took me with them sometime around 73/74. I was just a toddler. I loved it, no shark that day though. I remember the huge shark jaws in the aquarium. Fun times, though thankfully not so much shark fishing there now. I live on the west coast of Canada now. Plenty of GWs.
Great white sharks have been confirmed in the waters around Greenland so Scottish waters aren't a problem, also a tagged fish was tracked too the bay of biscay
Great white shark sightings in the British Isles seriously makes it feel like a local cryptid. There's loads of erroneous reports that can be easily explained, and just a handful of more likely stories. People really want it to be true that they're in the U.K., but the thing is it's more plausible to be possible in certain conditions than any megalodon or bigfoot sighting.
It’s true, there’s hundreds of alleged sightings, but like you say, only a handful that we see here which are somewhat believable
In this day and age, I'm gonna have to say, if there's no footage, it didn't happen. Everyone has a smartphone nowadays, only takes a sec to bring it out and take a photo, especially if the shark is hanging around the boat.
Still, as fascinating as they might be, we can't forget that the biggest killers in British waters are rip tides, cold water shock and stupidity (ie jumping off a 50ft cliff into shallow water).
A great, really entertaining video. The last couple of sightings have a whiff of credibility about them because of the people involved, and there being some evidence. The rest feel like old fishermen’s tales, and the post Jaws syndrome of seeing any large shark and saying it’s a great white. I hope they aren’t there, as some idiots will only either want to hunt them, or worse, try and get a selfie with them. No shark deserves that.
Uk has the biggest seal population in Europe. Porbegal, Thresher and Macko are here, so it is possible. Great Whites are in Canadian waters, so I can see it here.
Great whites are more than capable of surviving out waters they one a few sharks that CAN regulate their body temperature to that of the surrounding waters even tiger sharks swim past out waters on the very rare occasions if tigers can swim through our waters a great white most certainly can main reason why we don't have them permanently is the lack of prey sources but it's very easily possible
In Cornwall (in Falmouth too so hi 👋) we have one of the largest seal populations in the UK, so in theory there is a vast supply of food, and it is also true that not to long ago there were verified reports of great whites further north bordering arctic regions, so the old thinking that they tend to stay in warmer waters has also been proven not always!
So I guess anything is possible!
the biggest seal populations are in Scotland over 100K grey seals and nearly 40K harbour seals, compared to around 500 to 600 seals in Cornwall
Hate to correct you but estimates by several organisations put the seal population of Cornwall between 6,000 to 8,000 thousand. @@SaorAlba1970
Another question RE: Mako teeth: sure they're pretty 'snaggletoothed', but don't large Makos (I think they're called 'granders' because they can weigh over 1000 pounds or around 500 kilos) able to feed on seals, sea lions, dolphins and swordfish? I would assume that the 'big ones' are capable of dismembering large prey items==perhaps the teeth are smooth but also have some sort of cutting edge?
We have them off the east coast of Canada, same latitude they can regulate their body temperature !
7:00 lol. Look at this ballerina. Best breach picture EVER! ♥
Absolutely loved this video!
In North America, White Sharks have been seen all the way up in Nova Scotia, Canada so it would NOT be a stretch for one to be in UK waters.
Totally their water temps pretty much match ours year round..
What scares me the most about UK waters is its temperature. As a Mediterranian swimmer I can't understand how people cope with the atlantic cold
I have to ask: A Mako in British waters? Is there a warm water current (a-la the Gulf Stream) in the area? I don't know how tolerant of cold water Makos are (as opposed to porbeagles/salmon sharks). I also don't know anything about the dynamics of the waters around the Cornwall.
The world mapping of Short fin Mako shows their presence around the entirety of the U.K. and Rep of Ireland.
@@stevepirie8130 Thanks; I have seen folks on film a Mako feeding on a harbor seal out of Monterey but that was quite some time ago. I guess they always seem to surprise us.
Shortfins are occasional visitors and certainly not here all the time. May have been more frequent visitors previously but don’t seem to be so much now.
Yes the Gulf Stream runs right up through Eastern Atlantic and Irish Sea. It gives the UK quite temperate waters considering it's Longitudinal location. Mako Sharks have long been a feature of UK waters. As an aside we occasionally gets some bizarrely warm water creatures here such as Smooth-toothed Sand Tigers, Turtles and even Sun Fish!
The Gulf Stream stretches north east across the Atlantic and reaches the UK. It's the reason we get very mild winters while being on the same latitude as Scandinavia.
Someone in your comments a while ago mentioned a historic photograph that showed a huge shark coming up a river next to Dover castle. I’d love to know more about this, and wether it was the small river in Dover they meant or the Stour.
I’ll try and look into this, hopefully I can find it!
@@SHARKBYTES Excellent 😊 Thanks 🦈
Great video and a few of these sightings id never come across before. Worth noting that scotlands seal population is around 150,000 ao despite temperatures being borderline thay might be a pretty big draw. Scotland is also far more sparsely populated so opportunities to encounter any migrating GWS would be low
100k grey seals in Scotland. 30k harbour seals. The sea temperatures are only within a Great Whites range for 8 weeks of the year.