The coastal waters of Wales are home to a whopping 27 species of sharks, skates and rays, known collectively as elasmobranchs, and they are a fundamental part of Wales' natural heritage. But even so, research on their biology and conservation status is lacking. In this episode, Wild Science hits the road to join scientists from Project SIARC and the Ocean Predator Lab in North Wales as they work with local fishing communities to monitor tope sharks, and contribute to better understanding and conservation of shark species in the region.

Overview

00:11 Harriet McAra, Host of Wild Science, Episode introduction 01:26 Welcome to Pwllheli 03:13 Interview with David Curnick, Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, ZSL and Head of the Ocean Predator Lab 06:18 How to tag a tope shark 12:44 Interview with Daniel Montgomery, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Institute of Zoology, ZSL 18:44 Interview with Jake Davies, Project SIARC Technical Specialist, ZSL and Natural Resources Wales 22:57 Outro and final reflections

Resources

• If there's a topic you'd like to hear on a future podcast, or if you'd like to share your thoughts, email the ZSL Wild Science Podcast at: [email protected]
• Check out our science and conservation work at: www.zsl.org/Science or www.zsl.org/conservation
• Project SIARC: https://www.zsl.org/what-we-do/projects/project-siarc
• Ocean Predator Lab: https://www.oceanpredatorlab.com/
• David Curnick: https://www.zsl.org/about-zsl/our-people/david-curnick
• A fisher's perspective: Using half a century of local fisher knowledge to identify socio-economic, ecological and legislative trends influencing angelshark (Squatina squatina) records in Wales: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.70044

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