Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email
A two-metre long shark has been caught yards off one of Britain’s most popular tourist beaches.
A fisherman hauled in the porbeagle shark – a close relative of the great white – just 300 yards off Chesil Beach, in Dorset.
Tourists were surprised when Jan Davey brought his unusual catch ashore and laid it on the shingle.
The 39-year-old sat astride the fish, which was so large that at least one visitor thought it was a surfboard, and opened its massive jaws to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Mr Davey strapped the shark to his boat by its tail (Underwater Explorers) I’ve never seen anything like that so close to the shore.
&#13; <p>Fisherman Jan Davey</p>&#13;
Mr Davey, who caught the porbeagle in his net by accident while fishing, told the Dorset Echo : “I’ve been fishing here since I was 16.
“I’ve never seen anything like that so close to the shore.”
Hundreds of sharks gather Porbeagles, which can grow up to more than three metres long, usually stay at least 10 miles offshore.
But this specimen got caught in Mr Davey’s trammel net near Chesil Cove.
Porbeagles are members of the makerel shark family (Underwater Explorers) Fisherman Jan Davey is on the far right of this picture (Underwater Explorers) It is illegal to deliberately fish for porgeales but Mr Davey, of Portland, was unaware of its species and said the fish was already dead when he pulled it in.
He returned the shark – which was almost as long as his boat – to the sea when it was identified.
It is breeding season for porbeagles and Dorset Wildlife Trust said the unlucky creature was a reproductive female.
Porbeagles are among the most common sharks in British waters, along with blue sharks, and are found all around the UK.
A 9ft porbeagle was photographed off Cornwall in May .
Basking sharks, which typically grow to eight metres, are also commonly seen around the UK .
Despite being a member of the same family – mackerel sharks – as the great white, porbeagles bare little threat to humans.
The world’s best shark diving locationsShow all 10 1 /10The world’s best shark diving locations The world’s best shark diving locations Australia There are many shark species which can be sighted off the coast of Australia, including great white sharks, grey nurse sharks and reef sharks, but Ningaloo Reef on the western side of the country offers the chance for you to get in the water with the world’s biggest fish, the whaleshark (pictured). From April to July, these massive creatures can be reliably found near the surface, gulping down huge mouthfuls of microscopic food, and this is when you can snorkel with the behemoths.
The world’s best shark diving locations Great Britain The good old UK has its own world-class shark encounter, and not just any shark, but the second-largest in the world - and best of all, you don’t even have to be a diver to see them! In the summer months, huge basking sharks (pictured) appear off the coast of Cornwall and around the Isle of Man, feeding on plankton at the surface, offering a close encounter to snorkellers.
The world’s best shark diving locations Mexico Mexico has several shark-diving spots up its sleeve. Guadalupe Island, which sits 150 miles west of the Baja Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean, is considered the ultimate location to cage-dive with great white sharks (pictured), blessed as it is with clear blue waters and plentiful food sources. On the other side of the country, in the waters off Playa del Carmen in Cancun, you can dive with migrating female bull sharks between November and March.
The world’s best shark diving locations The Bahamas The Bahamas is known as the shark-diving capital of the world, mainly due to the fact that Caribbean reef sharks (pictured) can be regularly sighted in the deep waters off the scattered islands, but more recently two specific areas have become a Mecca for shark divers. Tiger Beach, off the west coast of Grand Bahama, is a prime site all year round for - you guessed it - tiger sharks, which cruise in the shallow waters over an immense sandbank and will come extremely close to divers, while off Bimini, a similar sandbank is home to immense great hammerhead sharks in February.
The world’s best shark diving locations Egypt The Egyptian Red Sea is home to several species of shark, including grey reef, scalloped hammerhead, silvertip and even the odd whaleshark or tiger, but one of its most-majestic inhabitants is the oceanic whitetip (pictured). This highly distinctive shark, with its vast, rounded pectoral fins resembling airplane wings, can often be sighted off the offshore marine park islands of The Brothers, Daedalous and Elphinstone in the winter months, though they have been seen all year round.
The world’s best shark diving locations South Africa Mention ‘South Africa’ and ‘sharks’ and people immediately think ‘great white sharks’, but this country offers far more than just the opportunity to cage-dive with the ultimate apex predator off Dyer Island and Geyser Rock near Gansbaai. You can also get in among packs of blacktip sharks (pictured) and ragged tooth sharks off the KwaZulu-Natal coast on the eastern side of the continent, and of course, from May to July, this is a prime location to sample the Sardine Run, when billions of sardines migrate northwards and attract hundreds of sharks, not to mention whales, dolphins and other predators
Getty Images
The world’s best shark diving locations Cuba Bull sharks (pictured) are one of the most-feared of all shark species, mainly because they prey in the shallows, around estuaries and even miles upstream in rivers, which means they are more likely to come into contact with humans. However, off Santa Lucia on Cuba’s northeastern shore, between August and February, divers can view these awesome predators at close range, as a local dive centre routinely hand-feeds them with scraps of fish.
Getty Creative
The world’s best shark diving locations Canary Islands, Spain The Canary Islands, a sun-and-sand tourist hotspot, might seem an unlikely place for shark diving, but there is a species of shark that resides in these waters. The angel shark (pictured) is a placid, bottom-dwelling animal that closely resembles a ray at first glance. Growing up to two-and-a-half metres in length, they are hard to spot, often lying camouflaged on the seabed.
The world’s best shark diving locations Galapagos Islands, Ecuador The world-famous Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands sitting astride the Equator some 575 miles from the Ecuador coastline, have been in the top five best dive destinations on the planet ever since liveaboards started visiting here. Divers can expect up close and personal encounters with scalloped hammerhead sharks (pictured), Galapagos sharks, and even mighty whalesharks.
The world’s best shark diving locations Cocos Islands, Costa Rica The remote Cocos Islands - they lie some 340 miles off the coast of Costa Rica - are a magnet for divers seeking some serious shark action. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, Cocos boasts various species of shark in its waters, but is most renowned for its massive shoals of scalloped hammerheads and whitetip reef sharks (pictured).
Porbeagles are naturally shy and there have only been three recorded attacks on humans, none of them fatal.
Some experts believe they are being driven closer to land by a lack of food in the over-fished Atlantic.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies