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Cornish Red Data (2009)

The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.

Lamna nasus - Porbeagle Shark



Habitat & Distribution

This mackerel shark is found worldwide in temperate and cold-temperate (2-18\'baC) waters. It is widely distributed throughout northern European seas. An epipelagic oceanic and coastal species which is found in surface waters down to depths of 700m or more but can occasionally venture into close inshore Cornish waters. It has been recorded during all months in Cornwall but is most common in the warm summer months, June-October. Some of the Cornish specimens reach 250kg in mass. The lower reproductive capacity and high commercial value of mature and immature age classes makes this species highly vulnerable to over-exploitation and population depletion. It is on the IUCN Red List as ' Vulnerable' , on Annex III of the Bern Convention and also on the UK List of Priority Species.

Source:

I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.

The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.