THE Isle of Wight has been named fourth in Britain's top ten shark spotting locations.

Scientific research, carried out by the National Geographic, listed the top shark spots in the country, placing the Isle of Wight at number four, behind Cornwall, at number one, Scilly Isles, two, and Devon, three.

The research also revealed new species of sharks that may be heading to UK waters in the next 30 years because of climate change, including hammerheads, blacktips and sand tiger sharks.

The ground-breaking research by Dr Ken Collins, former administrator of the UK Shark Tagging Programme and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, was commissioned by Nat Geo WILD to celebrate Sharkfest, a week of shark programming on this week.

It predicts that with the rise of sea temperatures and the impact of climate change, we could see non-indigenous species of sharks from the Mediterranean making their way to the British coastline by 2050.

The new shark map of Britain released today estimates that there may be currently over 10 million small sharks and 100,000 larger sharks in British waters, as well as some 40 different species, including Thresher, Basking and Nursehound sharks.

Dr Collins, based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, said: “It’s likely we will be seeing more sharks spread from warmer regions such as the Mediterranean Sea towards our waters in the UK over the next 30 years.

"These include the likes of Blacktips, Sand tigers and Hammerheads, which are currently found swimming off the coasts of Spain and Portugal.”

The ten new species of sharks that could inhabit British waters by 2050 are:

  • Great Hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) — the largest species of Hammerhead, currently found in the Mediterranean, southern Spain/Portugal, Atlantic coast of Africa, North America, Caribbean, South America, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans

  • Blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) — currently found in the Mediterranean, southern Spain/Portugal, Atlantic coast of Africa, North America, Caribbean, South America, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans

  • Sand tiger or Spotted Raggedtooth shark (Carcharias taurus) — currently found in the Mediterranean, African coasts, Atlantic coasts of USA and South America, Australia and South East Asia

  • Bigeye Thresher (Alopias superciliosus) — currently found in the mid-Atlantic, northern Spain, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean

  • Longfin Mako (Isurus paucus) — currently found in the mid-Atlantic, northern Spain, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean

  • Bronze Whaler or Copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus) — currently found in the Mediterranean, southern Spain and Portugal, Atlantic coast of Africa, Atlantic coast of South America, and both sides of the Pacific coast

  • Oceanic Whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) — currently found in the mid-Atlantic, northern Spain, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans

  • Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) — currently found in the Mediterranean, southern Spain/Portugal, mid-Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and both sides of the Pacific coast

  • Dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) — currently found off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and off the Atlantic coast of Africa, North America, Caribbean, South America, Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans

  • Goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) — currently found off the Atlantic coasts of France, Spain, Portugal and Africa, and in the Indian Ocean off the coasts of New Zealand and Japan

Current species indigenous to our waters such as the Basking, Thresher and Nursehound are declining in numbers due to over-fishing and other pressures so need to be protected, says Dr Collins.

Dr Collins added: “There is considerable debate as to whether we have Great White Sharks in UK waters. I see no reason why not — they live in colder waters off South Africa and have a favourite food source, seals along the Cornish coast.

"The only argument against there being Great White Sharks in our waters is that numbers worldwide are declining so the chances of seeing one around the UK fall year by year.

"Though while the potential number of shark species around the UK may increase in the next few decades, the overall number of sharks (especially the larger ones) will fall as a result of overfishing, plastic waste and climate change.

"It’s really important we work together to prevent a premature extinction of these wonderful creatures."

Britain’s top ten locations for shark spotting:

  1. Cornwall

  2. Scilly Isles

  3. Devon

  4. Isle of Wight

  5. Pembrokeshire

  6. Caernarfonshire

  7. Anglesey

  8. Isle of Man

  9. Argyllshire

  10. Inverness-shire

A Nat Geo WILD spokesperson commented: “Nat Geo WILD loves sharks. For too long these magnificent creatures have been portrayed in a strictly-one dimensional way, as terrifying predators.

"Sadly, now many species are under threat. That’s why we are bringing viewers Sharkfest, a whole week of fin-tastic shark TV.

"We follow the top scientific researchers as they dive down into the deep, discovering unseen shark behaviour never before caught on camera, and revealing the true awe-inspiring nature of sharks."

In a survey of 2000 British adults by Nat Geo WILD to celebrate Sharkfest, it was found that four in ten Brits admit to suffering an irrational fear of sharks while swimming in the sea.

Nat Geo WILD's Sharkfest runs until Sunday, July 22. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/sharkfest.