Millions of sharks on migration around Britain destined for shark fin soup

The blue shark is one of the species at risk from North Atlantic fishermen

Up to four million sharks, mainly blues and makos, are estimated to be caught every year in the North Atlantic as fishermen target migratory routes to and from British waters reports the Plymouth Herald.

It is feared long-line fishermen from Spain and Portugal are targeting sharks as tuna catches have collapsed. The extent of the problem has been revealed by researchers from Plymouth’s Marine Biological Association (MBA) which tagged and tracked 100 sharks and compared their movements with those of almost 200 long-line vessels.

David Sims, professor of marine ecology at the MBA, said they had identified areas which attracted both sharks and fishermen.

“We found that the sharks are congregating where warm and cool currents meet,” he said. “These are highly productive areas that attract fish, and that attracts sharks, too.

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