Sharks

The first sharks patrolled our seas over 400 million years ago - 170 million years before dinosaurs first appeared.

Some extinct sharks are very similiar to their modern descendants. They are such expert hunters, have so few natural predators and are so well-adapted to their environment, some simply have not needed to change.

Unlike most fish, shark skeletons are not made from bone. Instead they're made from a substance called cartilage - the same material that our ears and noses are built of.

UK waters are visited by no fewer than 32 different species of shark.

As well as the resident Dogfish, Tope and Smooth-hounds - many of which you can see in the aquarium - seasonal visitors include the graceful Blue shark, the powerful Thresher shark and the Basking shark, the world's second largest shark.

Although originally dismissed as little more than 'fishermen's tales' recent reports of Great White shark sightings around our shores are beginning to be taken more seriously by marine experts.

Whether they are there or not however we can definitely boast a shark over twice the weight of the Great White as a regular visitor.

Despite weighing more than 6 tonnes and measuring up to 11 metres in length the Basking shark is actually a very gentle giant.

It's a slow-moving shark which feeds on tiny planktonic animals which it sieves through enormous gill rakers. The best chance of seeing them is during late spring and early summer.

Other shark species found in UK waters include the ferocious-looking Porbeagle and Shortfin Mako, the bizarre-shaped Smooth Hammerhead and Angel sharks along with a number of deep water species like the enormous Greenland shark and the primitive Six-gilled shark.

Despite their fierce reputations sharks have much more to fear from us than we do from them.

Worldwide sharks attack fewer than 80 people every year. Most of these are believed to be cases of mistaken identity where the shark has confused the shape of a swimmer or surfer with that of a seal or turtle.

In fact many more people die from bee stings than from shark attacks.

In sharp contrast every year around 100 million sharks are killed worldwide by humans. Some are killed for food but many are caught accidentally in the nets of fishermen.

Most species of shark take a long time to reach maturity and give birth to few young. This means that they are less able to cope with the devastating loss of so many individuals because they simply cannot produce enough young to replace them.