HOLIDAYMAKERS staying at a resort near Watchet were surprised to discover a small shark while walking at Doniford Beach on bank holiday Monday.
Karina Van Den Brink and her 11-year-old daughter Amelia Kaszuba, who are from Wolverhampton and were staying at Haven's Doniford Bay Holiday Park, came across the small-spotted catshark at high tide while looking for fossils.
They initially believed they had found a distinctive-looking fish but, after carrying out some research online, realised the creature was indeed a small shark.
“My daughter and I were out on Monday morning - we woke up early to search for fossils,” Karina told the County Gazette.
“It was a high tide and we managed to find lots of sea glass, sea pottery, and fossils.
“We were heading back to our caravan when I spotted a fish. My daughter and I were unsure what species it was.
“We sent photos to her dad (Joey Kaszuba) on our way back. We said, ‘we'd found a shark’. He laughed and said it was just a fish.”
She added: “That evening, I was curious to what we had found, so I spent some time googling ‘spotty fish with two fins’.
“We discovered that we had actually found a shark. My daughter and I were thrilled.
“It was definitely a day to remember!”
The small-spotted catshark is the most commonly found species of shark in UK waters.
The predators feed on crabs, molluscs, and other small fish, and they can grow to around one metre in length.
The Wildlife Trusts' website says: “They are highly common around the UK and live close to the seabed in shallow waters down to 100m deep.
“They sometimes wash up dead on our beaches after storms, but you're most likely to come across one of their egg cases.
“The small-spotted catshark has very rough, pale cream skin, large dark cat-like eyes, and a small mouth.”
Did you know at least 21 species of shark live in UK waters? One is the lesser spotted catshark, which rolls itself into a doughnut shape when threatened! #LoveWildlife #LivingSeas pic.twitter.com/3IT0Nd64bx
— The Wildlife Trusts (@WildlifeTrusts) March 1, 2018
The species has other names including lesser-spotted dogfish, rough hound, and rock salmon, which can occasionally be spotted on fish and chip shop menus.
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