A critically endangered angelshark has been filmed in Cardigan Bay off the coast of Wales, offering a rare glimpse of one of the world’s most elusive shark species.
The sighting, captured by the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales (WTSWW), comes as National Marine Week celebrates the hidden wonders of our ocean floors.
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Angelsharks (Squatina squatina) – which can grow up to 1.8m long (about the size of a wardrobe) – live on the seabed, using clever camouflage to ambush prey. But their bottom-dwelling habits make them highly vulnerable to fishing practices such as bottom trawling, and spotting them in Welsh waters has become a rarity.
Baited underwater cameras were deployed as part of the Dolphin Diet Detectives project, which studies dolphin diets and marine life in Cardigan Bay. In just an hour of footage per site, researchers captured spider crabs, wrasse and, most remarkably, an angelshark.
“We were thrilled to record an angelshark in Cardigan Bay, a rare and exciting encounter.” says Dr Sarah Perry, marine conservation and research manager at WTSWW. "Before this project started, angelsharks hadn’t been captured on film in Cardigan Bay since 2021."
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Image and video credit: CBMWC, The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales
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