10:04am Friday 3rd August 2007
By Stephen Ivall
A Falmouth based sea safari company could be looking out for Great White Sharks off the Cornish coast in the coming weeks. Whether any are spotted is another matter.
Orca Sea Safaris will use its 12 seater RIB custom designed for wildlife watching in the South West.
The vessel, Seaquest of Falmouth' with twin Volvo 265 engines has a spotting tower and fish finder on board.
The vessel already cruises around the Cornish coast covering the area from Dodman Point in the East to The Lizard in the West, looking for as much wildlife as possible.
Now, with the alleged sightings of Great White sharks off the Cornish coast, they are busier than ever.
The crew of the vessel has already spotted Minke whale, Sei whale, Fin whale (the second largest whale on the planet), Long finned pilot whale, Common dolphin, Bottlenose dolphin, White beaked dolphin, Rissos dolphin, Harbour porpoise, Grey Atlantic Seals, Basking sharks and Ocean Sunfish, but so far not a Great Whites shark a species which during the past few weeks, has put Cornwall in the spotlight world-wide.
In June, a Great White shark was reported to have been spotted off St Ives and was widely reported in the media and on television. It sparked off reports of another spotting off the North Cornish coast.
Shark experts discounted the sightings saying the fish seen were either basking sharks or porbeagle sharks.
A dead porbeagle shark was then washed up on the coast on The Lizard and yesterday in Newlyn fish market, a huge porbeagle shark was sold having been caught off the coast by local fishermen.
Fish merchant Julian Smart said there was little doubt the porbeagle looked similar to a Great White. Porbeagles are known to be quite common off Cornwall and could well have been mistaken for a great white.
The monster brought to market weighed in at a massive 310 lb and was eight foot long. But the porbeagle catch is not expected to be the end of the matter.
As the holiday season continues, further sightings of Great Whites are expected to be reported, true or otherwise.
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