Da Dum, Da Dum, Da Dum…… Don’t worry, you’re in no danger of a seeing a Great White Shark anytime soon in Galway Bay! Although, Irish waters are packed full of many different types of sharks, some of which are mentioned below.

Basically a shark is a fish. There are over 350 types of sharks that live around the world and approximately only 8 of these are truly dangerous to humans (they unfortunately have gotten their bad reputation from ‘Jaws’).

Shark skin is made up of tiny little teeth called “dermal denticles.” This makes their skin feel very rough, a similar texture to sandpaper. And believe it or not, years ago fishermen used to use Dogfish to sand the sides of their boats!

In a sharks mouth there are about 5 rows of teeth. The front row is very loose and falls out after about 10 days, getting replaced by the row behind. So you can imagine how much money a shark has stashed away from the tooth fairy!

In Galway Atlantaquaria, we are currently housing 5 types of shark. These are the Angel Shark, Starry Smooth Hound, Common Smooth Hound, Bullhuss and Dogfish. So why not call and check them out….if you think you’re brave enough!

This is the largest shark that can be found in Ireland. It can grow up to 14m long. Basking Sharks are entirely harmless as they only eat tiny animals and plants called plankton. They swim with their mouths open to catch their food. Over 1650 tonnes of water an hour pass through its gills- that’s about the size of an Olympic swimming pool! They have small eyes and their body colour is brown or grey on the back and light grey underneath.

FACT: The basking shark is also called the Sunfish, Bone Shark, Elephant Shark, Sailfish Shark and the Big Mouth Shark

As its name suggests, this shark is bright blue in colour with a white underside. It is much smaller than the Basking reaching lengths of 4m. It has a long slender body and long pointed teeth, which it uses for eating fish, squid and even other sharks.

FACT:
Blue shark litters consist of 4 to 135 pups and the number of pups increases as the size of the mother increases.

The Mako Shark is very similar to the blue shark as it has more or less the same colouration and body shape, and it can sometimes be found in the waters around Ireland. It can often be seen leaping out of the water as it chases shoals of fish. It is the fastest swimmer among sharks reaching speeds up to 35km/h.

FACT:
Mako pups are cannibalistic in the womb!

Threshers can grow to about 3m. They have large eyes and small teeth, but the tail is very long. It is actually as long as the head and body of the shark. These sharks usually hunt in pairs. They encircle a shoal of small fish and thrash the water with their tails. This stuns the fish and forces them into a smaller area where they can be caught more easily by the sharks.

FACT:
Although the Thresher is not considered dangerous to humans, its powerful tail has injured swimmers and knocked over people who were standing too close to schools of fish (Oops!).

The Porbeagle is a fast swimming potentially dangerous shark. They are dark grey on top with white underneath and have a torpedo-shaped body. Like many sharks, Porbeagles must swim continuously to get oxygen. They can grow to be up to 4m (12 feet) weighing about 150 to 250 kg (350-550 pounds.)

FACT:
Porbeagles can retain the heat generated by their muscles and recycle it to heat their body, keeping their body temperature up to 11 degrees warmer than the cold waters around them.

This shark gets its name as it has long wide fins that look like wings! It is also known as Monkfish. It has a very different shape from the other sharks mentioned as they are flat bodied sharks (a cross between a shark and a ray). They are bottom living and tend to bury themselves in the sand for the majority of the time waiting patiently for their prey to swim past.

FACT:
Different species of Angel Sharks live on ocean floors at depths from 3 – 1300 m (10 to 4500 feet.)

Tope is a medium, slender houndshark with a long snout and large mouth. It can grow to over 2m (6 feet) and weigh about 40 kg (98.5 pounds.) It can live to 55 years. The Tope feeds on a variety of fishes ranging from squid to the barracuda in warmer waters! They are greyish in colour and are a very popular sport fish, particularly with inshore boat anglers. Male tope are often encountered in packs but much larger females are either loners or are found in small groups. They are frequently sighted in Dingle, Westport, Donegal and our very own Galway Bay.

FACT:
The liver-oil has a very high level of Vitamin A and its fins and flesh are valued for human consumption (hence its alternative name, the Soup-fin Shark)

These sharks have a pointed head, oval eyes and 5 gills. They are grey in colour and have a white belly. The Starry Smooth Hound is distinguishable from the Common Smooth Hound as it is covered by lots of small white spots (that look like little stars!). They live in sandy gravel bottoms where they find it easier to catch their food of small crustaceans such as crabs.

FACT:
Galway Atlantaquaria currently have 3 Smooth Hounds in our large Ocean tank, which were caught in Co. Wexford in 2004.

Many Sharks have been misunderstood in the past. Recently, their ‘mean, lean killing machine’ image is thankfully starting to slowly disappear due to greater knowledge, research and education. I personally believe it is vital to protect and conserve these beautiful creatures now and in the future. Already, 80% of shark species are threatened with extinction which is an astonishing figure. On average, around 15 people per year are killed by sharks and a whopping 100,000,000 (yes, that’s one hundred million) sharks are killed by people in the fishing industry each year. Bees actually kill more people a year than sharks do! Finally, some (fish) food for thought: What would our oceans be like without sharks?