TOP 5 Most CREDIBLE UK Great White Shark Sightings!

[@DavieTait]

I worked at the Marine Lab in Aberdeen from 1990-1999 as a Fisheries Scientist ( the same place Dr Greenstreet works ) and I took a phone call from a Shetland Salmon farm in 1995 of a shark attacking seals around the fish pens. The men I talked to all said the shark kept putting its head above the water to look for the seal ( when had been jumping out of the water onto the floating walkway around the pens ) and that they had never seen any shark like it before. There are a number of reports like this that never made it to the newspapers because the men and the companies they worked for just didn't want the hassle of the press. I would be far more amazed if White Sharks weren't in our waters than if they were

[@jpw5029]

Anymore stories?

[@FukaiKokoro]

Sounds like an orca. Weird.

[@DavieTait]

@@FukaiKokoroNope 100% a shark , the men that work at the Salmon farms know what an Orca looks like ( see them all the time ) and they knew this wasn't an Orca but a shark

[@FukaiKokoro]

@@DavieTait Okay... That's fine. I've just never heard of sharks spy hopping. Didn't mean any offense

[@megazard5249]

​@@FukaiKokoro Most sharks don't but great whites do. One of just two/three species that do I think.

[@dapeach06]

As someone who lives in CA where they're everywhere, it's so interesting seeing a video where sightings of a great white are described like sightings of a thylacine, or bigfoot or nessie

[@Slurmcanpushers2]

I’m from Calif as well and I just assumed they were all over the cold waters of the Atlantic like the Pacific.

[@TheJedi05]

Hi Kristian, back in 1979 i was in my last year of school at Falmouth Comp. Me and my pals decided one day to bunk off school and head to Grebe beach next to Durgan near Mawnan Smith villiage. My friend had a wet suit he had 'borrowed' and wanted to try out. I think it might have been his uncles. The rest of us just had normal swimming trunks on and it being April it was quite chilly in the water. In fact we had only been in for less than 5 minutes when the rest of us just sat on the beach shivering while our friend with the wet suit went back in the water. There were several large buoys about 100 yards off the beach. We thought them to be crab pots. My friend made his way towards to them when half way there one of the buoys started bouncing violently in the water and then amazingly submerged and a few seconds later erupted from the surface and practically flying out of the water. Just like if you hold a ball under water and let go. We all stood up wondering what was going on and realised something was not right and shouted to our friend to come back in. He was already on his way when something very large came close to the surface and displaced what was flat water creating a wave easily 3 to 4 foot. No dorsal fin or any part of what ever it was but it looked powerful.Then things died down and the buoy just floated away in the current. It had clearly been ripped off its mooring or crab pot. Then behind us two old guys came running up to us shouting and at our friend to get out of the water quickly. They seemed quite animated and concerned. The one was very nervouse and told us all off for being in the water after the events a few days before. We had no clue what he was on about. They had just been up on the small hill looking down at the water. So, a few days before one of them was in a rowing boat making his way to his larger fishing boat moored a lot further out. He said his rowing boat got hit by what he thought at first was another boat, then he saw the water swirling around him so thought maybe a dolphin. It span his boat around almost capsising him. Then the head of the shark came out of the water, just like the scene in Jaws and tried to bite his oar. The guy said he had never been more scared in his life and he quickly gained his senses and made his way straight back to the beach. Luckily it gets shallow fairly quickly. The guy said he was absolutely convinced it was a great white shark as it was very agressive. He had been fishing the area on holiday for donkeys years and never seen anything like it. And just like in Jaws after reporting it he was told to keep it to himself as it could scare people away from the area. Its a major tourist spot in the summer. So this guy and his mate we were then walking to Durgan next to where we were and from up on the hill they saw a huge shadow under the buoys the noticed our friend in the water which is why they ran down to warn him. They both think the crab pot was the target and it must have been full for what ever it was to take it like it did. The guy also said he was never going back in the water again after the incident. It definitely shook us up for sure. I've two scary shark stories, one from off St Agnes and the other off Ascention Island in the mid Atlantic, if you are interested.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Hi! Thanks for sharing this story - it’s awesome. I know Grebe beach well, my girlfriend and I regularly go to one that overlooks Grebe, a little bit closer to Mawnan Headland. I’ll be sure to read this story out to her next time she asks me to swim to the floating platform 😂😂

[@TanyaRando]

I'm glad I didn't know this when I camped a St Agnes for 2 weeks, and island hopped on the boats.

[@joecrammond6221]

as someone who lives in the UK, I'm fascinated by the idea that we might have great whites in our waters though i'll admit i would be a bit nervous about swimming near them, they are great animals

[@SHARKBYTES]

I'd love them to be here! What a treat

[@Hoot_hoot777]

I've heard of people bumping into them while diving here in Australia and nothing came of it. Not to say nothing would but most people who get attacked here are surfers.

[@joecrammond6221]

there is a guy who films sharks with a drone off the west coast of Australia, seen a few of his videos on here when Shark Bytes reviews video of them, nervous to watch at times but mostly mean no harm unless we get too close for comfort

[@davidjohnston7512]

As an Australian who lives on the east coast I can tell you that you don’t want them in your waters.We had a swimmer bitten in half off Sydney about 12 months ago.There are more sharks here now than ever before.

[@sharks3653]

@@SHARKBYTES Id be super stoked.

[@Knightess]

Spyhopping great white sharks! One of my absolute favourite things to talk about. They really just take a peek at the surface, as if to say, "Hmm, what's going on up there." Have you done an episode on shark spyhopping yet? I'd love to hear more about the research around it.

[@SHARKBYTES]

I should definitely do an in-depth video on spyhopping, I’ll make sure it’s on the list!

[@rottweilerfun9520]

​@@SHARKBYTES , Great , looking forward to that.

[@gregsmw]

@@SHARKBYTES could spy hopping be an attempt to see an injured animal above the surface? you said its rare for them to do it other then in baited waters, so could it be they see/smell the bait, but cant see the food source, so stick their head above water to see if there is an injured animal on the nearby rock(boat) orcas do a very similar thing, they pop their head out of the water to see seals on rocks/iceflows in order to judge how to approach it (somethign you can see a LOT in documentaries), perhaps great white do a similar thing

[@sherylbjerre9636]

Great suggestion!

[@thinkir86]

I didn't know sharks did this. I thought it was something only killer whales did, especially while hunting. So cool to know now!

[@adamhickey396]

I would absolutely love a Shark Bytes special where Kristian heads off on a boat around the shores of Cornwall searching for a Great White Shark. Could quite literally be a Cornish version of Jaws, albeit with a happier ending for the shark and those on board the boat. Would be a great nod to Robert Shaw too, who went to school in Truro.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Would absolutely love to do this, I reckon I could get Matt from Islander Outdoors involved too!

[@jritechnology]

Remember those shows back in the day "looking for Nessie"? This could be a version of that, only "looking for Brucie". (What I imagine the British would call Bruce, the Great White Shark)

[@Hoot_hoot777]

That would be pretty cool to see.

[@aaronkiely7642]

I'm from Ireland and agree there has been no effort to find great white sharks in our waters sure they probably don't stick around for long but great whites are known for migrating huge distances and our waters are the right temperature for great White's half the year round plus we have one of Europe's largest grey seal populations on the British isles

[@sharks3653]

@@aaronkiely7642 You're not wrong. If the conditions are right and a shark has an extreme case of wander lust, then its not impossible for a white shark to BRIEFLY visit the British isles

[@samuelhonywill4499]

With the two sand tigers recently washing up it seems like we might be seeing the start of new species coming to our shores, I'd be amazed if great whites aren't spotted here in the next few years (I'm personally convinced they at least visit us from time to time anyway).

[@iandavies1893]

They all seem credible, especially the Scottish ones. 70 miles between the two sightings is a short swim for a GW. I am convinced that we have them in our waters at certain times of the year and now that mobiles phones have such good cameras we have the chance that the next sightings will be filmed. Great video and content.

[@petersmith5915]

Some of the most heavily fished/surveyed seas in the world for centuries, yet none ever caught even by accident?not 1 even dead gw washed up on our shores with its jaws still shown in a museum to commemorate the incredible rare find?brittania ruled the waves n youre telling me drake n nelson etc never noticed the great whites? Lol

[@alexandruescu1207]

Get ya drone out, laddie.

[@chrissy9997]

@@petersmith5915 It could be that they are just that rare in combination with climate change.

[@mrbennett3791]

The most significant one has to be the marine biologists that went diving in Scotland and both said it was definitely a white pointer

[@themerchantofengland]

Hi, I work offshore South East England, on windfarms and I've Thresher Sharks but not any Great Whites unfortunately, but there is so much food to sustain Great Whites, seals, Bass and so much Mackerel, they will make their home here one day, I'm sure. Thanks for the upload, fascinating stuff 👍.

[@CaLI0w]

You should make some content when you go work on the turbines? That would be awesome lol

[@Tseringlhatso]

For those who don't know Scotland, the water off the East coast (where I live) is significantly colder than the West: the West enjoys warming by the Gulf stream. We hardly ever get even basking sharks here. I guess it's not impossible that a great white could swim from the West coast to the East, but even in a heatwave our waters are pretty cold. If it was a GW, it was a pretty hardy individual!

[@johngibson1256]

Plenty Porbeagles in the east of Scotland/England so absolutely no reason that their close relative Jaws could not venture into the north sea.

[@charlessarver1637]

Great whites definitely prefer warmer waters

[@CIC-qm9zt]

About 20 yearsvago, I was fishing under the Forth Rail Bridge, three orcas swam past. I couldn't believe it. Neither did anybody I told about it, the next week there was a photo in the local paper. Never forget that, amazing to see.

[@Tseringlhatso]

@@CIC-qm9zt Oh wow! I saw a humpback off Burghead about 2 years ago - my favourite whales. I couldn't watch the video of one being killed by a shark.

[@justinhealey2408]

I saw a video of a White Shark off the coast of Alaska and it definitely had some mass to it

[@MermaidMama360]

What an absolute pleasure to have your knowledge and expertise available to us. Thank you.

[@SHARKBYTES]

You are more than welcome Maggie - glad to hear you're enjoying Shark Bytes

[@Unclebuzzcocksne]

There’s no doubt in my mind that we have them from time to time. They’ll move from the med and Atlantic in the summer months for seals, tuna etc. probably just that few in numbers they’re very rarely seen. I know Ocearch are doing an eastern Atlantic and Med expedition soon, and part of that will take place around the UK and Ireland

[@YortOK]

It's interesting to me that there aren't prey carcasses washed up or attacks on people in the UK. Simply put, I think it's too intemperate for white sharks to make UK waters a regular haunt. Although i have no doubt that they make rare passes.

[@greystash1750]

@@YortOKthere are prey remains that wash up. A few of which I’ve seen have been reported as either great whites or big mako, with it being impossible to say either way without teeth/teeth fragments

[@dayman-ed1pp]

British waters definitely seem like a logical region for migrating white sharks to at least pass through from time to time. When water temperatures are ideal, I would think one would be attracted to the populations of seals, dolphin, and other sharks in Scotland and South England

[@cowboyfromkettins]

Absolutely. Im sure there are more grey seals in NE Scotland than the rest of Europe.

[@lottedunnell1906]

Water temperatures in Scotland are only within a great whites range for about 2 months of the year. Although we have a good population of Seals, it's nowhere near enough to sustain an abundance of Great Whites. 100 to 150k seals on the East Coast of America, around 5k in Cornwall and the South West of England. There could be a couple, but not enough of a food source to make the journey worthwhile.

[@wbh1975]

My dad told me of a shark encounter off Ullapool while boat fishing. He had seen Great whites when I lived in OZ. The shark was around 16 feet he reckoned as the boat was around 20 feet or so. The shark swam along side the boat and rolled over to look he said. He said it was definitely a great white. This must have been in the 80s.

[@Barrybullthiefpouters]

That's what I've said m8 we defo have GREAT WHITES UP HERE SCOTLAND IF CAN SWIM OF COAST NEW YORK IN WATER TEMP THEN CAN HERE AND WITH ABUNDANT SEAL POPULATION THERE IS FOKD FOR THEM A PLENTY

[@carolynnesbit8670]

I remember a Great White was sighted swimming up the West coast of Scotland, in the 80's! They do swim in colder waters, not just warm or tropical!

[@wbh1975]

Our waters are in the tolerance zone for them. They can be found of Nova Scotia and I'm sure Thier water temps are comparable to ours.

[@Barrybullthiefpouters]

@@carolynnesbit8670 they will go anywere there food source and West Scotland has plenty seals so I'm sure they have to been around before or since .must be either starvin or rogue sharks that will come up Scotland the water isn't any colder than off coast new York state and there found there

[@leakoe3797]

Barry Howes I remember my Father mentioned that he saw a great white from a ship coming from Durban said it was enormous possibly more than 24 ft !

[@patkelly8309]

I think #1 is a serious contender for a White. Those boys ( experienced fishermen ) know what they are talking about and although it is true they also love to embellish a yarn I reckon they definitely hooked what they believed to be a GW. However as you said, Makos can reach a good size and do look remarkably similar to their cousins. What a shame no one got a good look at the teeth!

[@keithmower921]

I agree with you. There is a difference between embellishment and credibility. If you are embellishing a story you want it to sound plausible, so you may add a couple of 100 Kg, but you wouldn't change the species to something unheard of in British waters.

[@TheWorkmonkey1]

I have absoloutely no interest in sharks or marine biology but KZbin just popped up a video of yours and it was really interesting. I have shamelessly subbed, can't wait to hear more about Sharks.

[@cazzey8569]

I trust this channel for shark stuff over anything else, even documentary wise 😂 I am really intrigued to see what type of species we can get here, I will take a drive from the north to the south to just watch any view of sharks tbf ❤

[@Robbie870]

Portbeigle a cousin off the great white shark look very similar but smaller would explain a lot off sightings

[@Gazman011969]

Back in the 80's there were two Great Whites swimming off the IOW Coast, I know as I was there and saw them, it was all over the news at the time.

[@Orca-stra]

Your videos are so high-quality and entertaining!

[@SHARKBYTES]

Thanks so much, glad you're enjoying the channel!

[@UncleBuZ]

@@SHARKBYTES This is the way. I have spoken.

[@stephenduckham9736]

Absolutely fantastic video. I'm Cornish and live in Perranporth. I'd Absolutely bet my life that GW's have swum these waters. The way those sightings are described are just so spooky. And with your brilliant deduction theories I'm sure you are also certain that we have had some here. There is nothing more privileged than to see an awesome (and that word used in its correct context) predator in their natural habitat. If I'm down Falmouth sometime I'll get you a pint pard.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Always happy for a pint fellow pard!! 🍺

[@WhiteIkiryo-yt2it]

I was in Padstow back in 2004 for a family holiday and my sister and I did a bit of crabbing on the edge of the harbour. While not catching a crab (though my sister caught 4...still and about that, lol) I brought the line up closer to the surface to see if a fish would be interested and two slim fish indeed came up and slowly glided around the bait and took some small nips they were silvery blue on top and lighter on the bottom. They were rather small, about 10-15cm and very clearly young but it was very surprising to see what I thought were sharks as they looked more nimble and clearly predatory as they circled the bait and took many attempts at it. I'm rambling now but I am not surprised Great Whites are appearing in Cornwall as you have a deal population and the waters get some warmth from the gulf stream and as waters continue to warm, it is more likely their numbers will continue to grow and as long as the seals stay, plenty of food.

[@stevenchristelow2938]

I was on a fishing trip in Northumberland around 2000,, we had a 15-18 foot GW circle our boat fir a good 10 mins. It was so close you could have touched it. If camera phones were around we wouldn't be having this debate now.

[@phrayzar]

I have caught a couple of juvenile great whites in Australia. It's pretty hard to distinguish between Mako and great whites in the water unless the great white is massive.

[@FukaiKokoro]

Don't they have very different teeth?

[@HuSiaCat]

Around 1993 a friend and I were fishing off Fistral beach in Newquay, off the rocks at to the left of the main beach. A shadow came stalking along the baseline of the rocks, it was high tide and we could clearly see the water below. The shadow looked exactly like a predatory shark, dark on top and moving unmistakably like a large Shark. We even shouted to the people on the beach but they didn't hear us. The same week and actually the same day, a mystery shark was spotted by a fishing vessel just off Newquay and the sighting made the national press. I couldnt say exactly what type of shark it was, but I've been fishing my whole life and know my species, it didn't seem like a Porbeagle, it was to wide and dark to be a Blue, too small for a Basking, didn't have the definition of a Mako or a Thresher. My assumption was that is was a Juvenile White around 6-7 Feet long but I'm underestimating as the Shark spotted at sea was said to be 12ft. I'll never be sure but it just didn't look or move like a native Shark. I do believe Whites visit, Langstone Harbour East Hayling island there's been sightings over the years and it's a perfect environment the harbour. And it ticks all the boxes with a growing seal population, warmer shallow waters and colder channels. If we get Tuna and Sunfish, why not Whites?

[@nickgoode8579]

Porbeagle I expect

[@HuSiaCat]

@@nickgoode8579 Wasn't a Porbeagle, to wide and not pointy snout!

[@fragelicious]

Sounds right.

[@robwall5530]

Liar

[@robwall5530]

No need to mako big deal about it

[@DazDaMan]

I've always been of the opinion that they're here - and that photo genuinely made the hairs stand up on my arms!

[@abbott7704]

Really great channel dude, very well presented. I’ve not long since got back from the Neptune islands in SA I went cage diving with great whites and it was fabulous, I’m a very lucky boy to have seen these incredible fishes up close and personal 🦈👍🏻

[@cazzey8569]

Kristian, you sir do the best merch ever!! (Came today) Totally worth the wait 😂 and the packaging is genius 😊 to anyone that hasn't already, I highly highly recommend the hoodies!! So so so good quality and the two pockets as opposed to one massive pocket is amazing 😊

[@SHARKBYTES]

Super glad you're loving the merch!!

[@painterlypotts]

There are some very good words in this episode! Spyhopping and Rubby Dubbies. Fantastic.

[@aidagalito]

What scares me the most about UK waters is its temperature. As a Mediterranian swimmer I can't understand how people cope with the atlantic cold

[@kyle-hx8qk]

At a whopping 32.9 Celsius 😂.. laughs in Australian.. so it's nearly winter then? Maybe early spring, mid autumn?

[@stevepirie8130]

I’d heard of the sighting of the West coast of Scotland in a documentary and they’d planned on jumping in with the shark which in hindsight might have proven the hard way which type of shark it was.

[@SHARKBYTES]

They had some decent underwater camera gear with them that day as well I believe, they’d have proved it for sure with an underwater picture!!

[@aldobonaso3481]

@@SHARKBYTES or possibly some bite mark analysis...😬

[@rawdog314]

​@@SHARKBYTES one thing that doesn't sit well with me about that whole "sighting" was the interview after it, these are marine biologists and when recalling the sighting they said it occured roughly july (or whatever month it was) I'm sorry but if your a marine biologist and you've just observed a 5 metre great white shark in Scotland you'd remember the date/time down to a tee,bit fishy.....

[@Dstreet45Dk]

​@@rawdog314for some people the exact time is irrelevant you know? It happened and thats cool, but don't ask when because i don't give a damn

[@rawdog314]

@@Dstreet45Dk disagree, it would be the absolute pinnacle of there scientific careers, we remember dates like that it's human nature. I'm sceptical anyway,they were armed to the teeth with cameras as the whole reason they were out there was to photograph a dive and not ONE photo of jaws...

[@rikpontician8499]

Greetings from the Northern East Coast of America. Enjoyed both parts in this series and look forward to more.

[@shooreshgolzari3885]

You get white sharks in Alaska where water tmps range from 2-11c and an attack was recorded in the Russian Far east about a decade ago at about the same latitude as southern Alaska. Scottish waters on the west coast get the Gulf Stream and range from 8-13c. I don’t think water temperature is the primary factor discouraging them, probably that they’re just so rare, probably driven to extinction by over fishing over the centuries where before no one was really looking for them.

[@alebroker7587]

There have been great white shark attacks in Nova Scotia, Canadá. There could definetly be in Scotland

[@vindolanda6974]

They've also been tracked as far south as Macquarie Island which is sub-Antarctic

[@shooreshgolzari3885]

Good points.

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Sure you’re not thinking of Salmon Sharks? Alaska has loads of those cause, well…Salmon. They look a little like juvenile Great White Sharks.

[@patkelly8309]

Brilliantly done, thanks mate. Infrequent visitors is what I'm going to say.

[@frankmilne4633]

I was a Commercial diver for the oil rigs, & salvage. I have seen plenty sharks in Scottish waters. In 19.99, thair were two mako sharks, in ayr harbour, the nearest ive seen a carcharodon carcharias. ((Great white) was in the Mediterranean sea, & it was 5meters, BIG FISH.

[@iainclark8695]

Hiya. As noted in other comments the West Coast of Scotland has higher temps. I distinctly remember being annoyed in 2012 because bathwater warm waters were keeping mackerel down in the depths where I couldn't catch them

[@quadcannon]

Excellent rundown on the potential GW sightings in the waters off the UK!

[@HiImFrederick]

Really enjoyed this season of videos and wondering if you would ever do a mini series on the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916

[@SHARKBYTES]

I can definitely look into it, shroud of mystery over those attacks for sure

[@HiImFrederick]

@@SHARKBYTES it be nice to hear it from a point of a shark scientist

[@nightsofglory3780]

In North America, White Sharks have been seen all the way up in Nova Scotia, Canada so it would NOT be a stretch for one to be in UK waters.

[@paulschofield985]

Totally their water temps pretty much match ours year round..

[@MJMW25]

I tend to think that they just come and go around cornwall rather then permanently stay here, It would make sense since they can raise and lower their body temperature. Just maybe they don’t come in so close and stay deeper

[@annabizaro-doo-dah]

Ha! Watched them one after the other because, although *Hal* told me about the other video, I didn't want to watch it straight away because I was saving it for an Easter treat lol! Really happy that I've got two!! It's so nice you, Islander Outdoors and Hal link and recommend each others vids because you're all my favourites.

[@timsheppard4858]

We have them off the east coast of Canada, same latitude they can regulate their body temperature !

[@charlessarver1637]

Great episode as always. Perfect analysis. I think great whites could follow warm water currents to the far north but I don't think they'd stick around for long

[@ThebeardofCrunt]

The reel "clicks" is the drag. It allows the fish to take line without snapping it. It also gives more control over bigger/heavier fish,and causes less wear and tear on the reel.

[@DjDolHaus86]

The click is the clicker, it's a device that can be engaged with the reel in or out of gear that prevents the handle from counter rotating and gives an audible click when line is pulled from the spool, the drag is more or less silent on a multiplier.

[@pieterveenders9793]

Big multireels have a clicker, it's not the same as the drag, which they have also.

[@surfrider986]

Hey buddy, great to see you back making vids to edutain us 😀Yeah, I think the occasional one probably does pass by the UK briefly but no need to get a bigger boat when sailing in Cornwall any time soon 😀

[@stecumo6459]

"love to prove that,wouldn't ya? get your name into the national geographic!"

[@paulschofield985]

😂😂😂.. Love that film 🎥..

[@stecumo6459]

@@paulschofield985 absolute masterpiece paul,i like this fella he's a good skin but i'm just gonna hit him with jaws quotes here and there.hit him last week with "you've got city hands mr parton,you've been counting money all your life" haha

[@paulschofield985]

@@stecumo6459 😂😂😂

[@houseofsolomon2440]

Very interesting & thanks for posting! 🌿

[@deemorley2837]

I'm 66yr. When I was around 10yr old and in holiday in Salcombe I saw a very large shark hanging from a jibber out side the life boat station. I remember it was grey and white but I wasn't allowed to get close as it stunk. Great white ? I don't know. It would have been early 60's and hot enought for me to get sun stroke. Its some thing I won't forget. Love your show.

[@AirbornePirates]

Blue Fox sighting for me is most credible as it had Shark journalists on board who knew the difference between a mako, porbeagle, blue and basking sharks 🙌 I’ll be out there chumming this year 🌊

[@bensmith9353]

Great video brother! We had one wash up near we’re I live last week in Myrtle beach. Also 3 where caught by fellow land based shark fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico all within a month. It’s good to see peoples opinions changing from the jaws era to now. Hopefully the increase in sightings and catches shows the population is growing.

[@Rich_H_1972]

Just found this channel and have subscribed. Excellent video! What a shame no-one takes good pictures of these sightings. We really do need strong photographic or video evidence and, alas, we never seem to get them!

[@professorkaos2781]

Thats because there are no great whites in the UK's waters.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Welcome to Shark Bytes Richard, hope you enjoy the channel!

[@chrissy9997]

I once spotted a river otter in a place where someone working for years there had never seen one once. I tried to take a picture but it dove under water and became a brown blur in my camera. I have to admire the skill, patience, and sheer luck of people who photograph wildlife in action.

[@oldmrt]

Great video Christian - enjoyable as ever 👍

[@hughsmith2657]

Great white sharks have been confirmed in the waters around Greenland so Scottish waters aren't a problem, also a tagged fish was tracked too the bay of biscay

[@JCM420]

There’s a known population of white sharks off the coast of Alaska. If they can survive off Alaska one would think they theoretically could do okay off Scotland. Albeit the seal population off Alaska is much greater than Scotland. Great video!

[@rottweilerfun9520]

Where at in Alaska ? That's interesting, 9

[@Eggyfart83]

Scotland has a big population of seals

[@mikemontgomery2654]

They’re known to be in the waters off of Newfoundland. I don’t see any reason they haven’t been in the waters of the UK.

[@derickl436]

I’d never heard of the Lybster siting, wow, that’s mind blowing! Could all the orca pods be keeping them away?

[@SHARKBYTES]

It definitely would be playing a role!

[@balthiersgirl2658]

Love this channel find all sharks fascinating

[@SHARKBYTES]

really glad to hear you're enjoying the channel, sharks are great

[@lindathomas5500]

In Cornwall (in Falmouth too so hi 👋) we have one of the largest seal populations in the UK, so in theory there is a vast supply of food, and it is also true that not to long ago there were verified reports of great whites further north bordering arctic regions, so the old thinking that they tend to stay in warmer waters has also been proven not always! So I guess anything is possible!

[@SaorAlba1970]

the biggest seal populations are in Scotland over 100K grey seals and nearly 40K harbour seals, compared to around 500 to 600 seals in Cornwall

[@lindathomas5500]

Hate to correct you but estimates by several organisations put the seal population of Cornwall between 6,000 to 8,000 thousand. @@SaorAlba1970

[@OttCollin0311]

Love this channel, your presentation is great and super entertaining!

[@danielmoore9214]

I agree with all sightings. It seems a given to me that they are an occasional visitor with the warmth of the Gulf Stream making the habitat viable.

[@richardjamesclemo6235]

I once saw a perfect looking ‘squared off’ grey fin at least 2ft x 2ft in size in the sea at Newlyn/Mousehole when I was on the Scillonian, a few hundred yards from the coast. I didn’t know sharks had different shaped fins, and after looking them up recently, the only pics that match to what I saw are of the great white. This was on an overcast summers day evening sometime between 2010 and 2015.

[@BlackRose22998]

Wow how cool is that

[@tomtomthebear]

Big up the Falmouth massive 😂😂 been watching for a while didn’t realise you were based in Falmouth..!! Keep up the good work

[@darrencheers6893]

Just discovered your channel and love it. I absolutely love great whites! Live in London, but spent much time in South Africa and had the privilege of seeing many great whites in the wild! And I really would love to think that a rogue great white has visited our waters!

[@SHARKBYTES]

Glad to hear you're enjoying Shark Bytes Darren!

[@darrencheers6893]

​@@SHARKBYTES just watched your review of The Shallows. I watched this movie as an inflight movie on the runway of JFK on a delayed take off. Learning so much from you. And agreed with your verdict. Making my way through all your other videos!

[@avs040288]

Commenting because it helps and I like these videos!

[@kla631]

I don't know how cold is too cold for Great Whites since we have them here on Long Island practically year round. There are seals on our beaches during the winter months and people have reported that they've seen them chase the seals. But then again in the spring/summer months they're spotted from time to time cruising along the coast. Of course I don't get why its such big news since sharks are fish and fish live in the ocean but the local news channels always have a big announcement Shark Sighting. No matter what species they alway show a picture of a great white even if the shark sighted was a nurse or sand tiger. So why not off the coast of the UK? Funny with all the species of shark off Long Island, not one attack, well except those nips on the western end but none on the eastern end.

[@PhilipNoble]

I used to go to Looe/Polperro every summer when I was younger. Lovely place. Got a photo of me with a blue shark. My father and I were fishing off Polperro harbour one evening we saw a good sized shark a little distance off.

[@Nkflyguy21]

Very interesting deep dive! ❤

[@athenry0499]

White sharks have been found in Alaska,and even sub-Antarctic Islands such as Campbell Island. I doubt the water temperature is much of a deterrent.

[@jessicaandtrains7768]

Lack of food is. You don't catch squat from English beaches

[@kingmaker7334]

As someone interested in marine biology, I am curious what a levels/degree you did

[@SHARKBYTES]

Hi! My undergraduate was in Zoology, specialising entirely in marine biology based modules. I think did a masters by research (like a mini PhD) in biological sciences, where my research was focused around the impact of plastic pollution on sharks. Since then I’ve done a variety of different shark research projects!

[@paul-d-mann]

Love the video and channel 🤙

[@MJMW25]

I remember seeing an article in the local paper(Cornwall) about a bigggg shark 20miles of Falmouth bay, that ate a fish that was being reeled in, within the last 6 years I think

[@SHARKBYTES]

Would love to see this if you could ever find it again!

[@m900l4]

Around 2005 I was bodyboarding with a friend on holiday around Devon. It was quite a cool day so there wasn't many others in the sea. It was just us two and one surfer. We were probably about ... I don't know.... in the sea at about 3 metres deep trying to catch some higher waves. Anyway... after some time the surfer started shouting something which we realised was SHARK and pointing... we looked ahead and sure enough about 150-200 yards away there was a dark blueish looking fin in the water looking to be around 2 to 3 feet high from where we were. It was coming towards us heading straight in our direction. It dipped under the surface of the water and resurfaced closer. By this point the surfer was gone 😂 we scrambled with our bodyboards trailing behind us hoping if the shark got close hopefully they will take the bodyboards ... 😂 we swam so bloody fast out of those waters it was literally adrenaline/ panic . I dont know if it was a great white as we didn't want to stick around to look or whether it was some other shark. Always be wary when you're in the sea. You don't know what is under that water with you. You can only see a shark coming if it is at the surface and you see their fin. As soon as it disappears you don't know how close it is to you.

[@Br1stol420]

New sub great content thank you

[@SHARKBYTES]

Welcome to Shark Bytes! Make sure to go and check out all our old content, i'm sure you'll love it

[@cazzey8569]

Welcome to the Shark Bytes family here! 😊

[@findingfinsuk]

Great video, really interesting! Thank you 💙🦈

[@DerDude1977]

Why shouldn't Great Whites not be occasionally visitors to English, Irish or even Scottish waters? They also visit Canadian waters regularly and in the Pacific they are also seen in Alaska in the west as well as in eastern Russian waters. White sharks were also seen in cold waters quite far south of New Zealand's southern Island. I just think with commercial fisheries many were accidently killed in fishing nets in the past and back then in those times (before Jaws, for example) no one of the fishermen really cared about their massive bycatch. Also there exist a few videos from the 60s or so from norwegian waters where it was common to hunt very large Basking Sharks with harpoons, which seemed to be as common as many more really huge Basking Sharks back then. Or Greenland Sharks, too, for example. Before the Jaws Movie and the internet the difference was that people didn't really had any interest or clue of what fishermen did during their work as it was just a common job for them and also big sharks often just ended in nets as bycatch and their corpses often just were thrown back overboard in the open ocean as there was no commercial interest and also no public interest. Also huge sharks were common to fishermen who mostly cared for the money they earned to make a living out of their jobs for their famililies and themselves. When there are occasionally White sharks in the Bay Of Biscay then they surely would also swim into British waters or even into the North Sea occasionally. But there are so few left of them that just no real evidence exists until today. Makos are even sometimes sighted in Norwegian waters, so Great Whites could sometimes even swim up there, too. A Greenland Shark was washed ashore on the island of Texel in Holland years ago. There existed pictures of it. Huge whales sometimes are seen or stranded on the coasts of Germany, Holland and Belgium. In the 80s a Beluga whale swam hundreds of kilometres into the rhine river. A bottlenose dolphin was there at the German coast of the Baltic Sea some years ago and even played with swimmers there. Humpback Whales as well as Fin Whales and also Sperm whales also came into the Baltic Sea in the last years. And even an Oceanic Whitetip Shark, who normally live in tropical open waters strandes in the Baltic Sea in Sweden some years ago. So to me it is no question that there could be Great White Sharks in British Waters. The poblem to me is that there are just so few of them (there are less than 500 estimated in the Med although it's one of their breeding grounds) that it would be hard to find one. They seem to be more common on the American coasts, especially on the east coast of Mexico and the USA but also at the Atlantic coast and in the Carribean although their numbers there seem to be smaller. Then there is the South African population, although they distribution is nearly worldwide. And of course the Australian coast, especially in the southern parts of Australia. There also seems to be a population in the Chinese and Japanese Sea up north to the far east of russia. But overall populations seem to be decreasing sadly.

[@jezjukes]

Great comment, not surprised it was edited!

[@benjohnson3022]

I lived just north of Boston MA for years, in Winter we'd have snow on the beach with ice chunks washing up, in summer we'd have shark warnings on the TV. We'd also go out in the channels looking for them. There's no reason they wouldn't be here in the UK.

[@franbowers7032]

Great video mate

[@stevenhart9004]

Studies many years ago in Australia radio tracked white sharks & found most of the big female sharks went back & forward along sections of coastline, while smaller male sharks went all the way round the world, past UK & back down to Australia. It most likely indicates females likely stay in their preferred environments while males are more migratory. The ones in the UK photos are very small so they must have bread near to the area captured.

[@townfanjohn]

I personally believe we get Great Whites visiting the West coast and the West coast of Ireland from the Atlantic but they generally dont stick around as they got no reason to. The water here is ideal for them but while there is food for them here they are better fed elsewhere. We dont really have the kind of beach culture here like they do in the USA, Australia and South Africa where you get regular "contact" between people and Great Whites but among communities that do spend significant time on the waters around Britain (fishermen, surfers etc) rumours have persisted for a very long time now, and these people tend to know whart they are talking about.

[@jimmoore4872]

With regards food, the UK has the largest seal population in Europe, so our coast is ideal for GWS predation.

[@townfanjohn]

@jimmoore4872 I know but the local population still isn’t big enough for a breeding population a lot of the area seals live at are well known tourist spots if GW were there they would have been widely seen

[@jritechnology]

I was unable to find any hard data for the water temperatures in Ullapool that summer, but estimates point north of 16C

[@SHARKBYTES]

I’d definitely say it was upwards of 16C that summer!

[@BarkingLondon]

Just come across this channel. A bloke who was ex army knew of something that happened on an Oil rig off Aberdeen about 20 or so years ago. A rig diver was doing his underwater work & got called straight back & pulled up. He was being watched on the underwater cameras. He was circled twice by a 10 to 14ft Great White. Unfortunately the cameras wer not recording just there to monitor & watch the divers. 💁🏻‍♂️💁🏻‍♂️. 🦈🦈🦈

[@kimfarr5399]

Sharks Happen and shark bites are my two favorite channels about sharks..

[@shadow7gr]

I am a shark enthusiast from Greece. My passion is sharks and everything about them. Here is my thoughts about GWs in the UK. To begin with, touching the temperature issue, GWs hypothetically would be at home around UK waters during the summer months. Larger female specimen that are more tolerant to cold waters could extend their visits even longer. That was the easy part. Now for the tricky part which is why hasn't a GW been confirmed yet in the North Sea. We know that GWs tend to move a lot and follow long migration patterns annually between hotspots. We know also that GWs are considered mainly a coastal spieces that tend to spend most of their time within the continental shelf. Why is that ? Because when they are young it is safer from open ocean predation from larger sharks and when they mature they start praying on pinnipeds that live close to coasts. This means that areas that sustain large pinniped populations become GW hot spots. Observation of sharks in hot spots becomes then common (f.e Farallon islands , cape cod, Neptune islands, Guadalupe, dyer island etc) . If we.come over to Europe/North Africa east Atlantic region and the Mediterranean sea there is no such seal colonies existing as the ones mentioned above. So sharks theoretically feed upon tuna /dolphins which usually do in open water thus observation is rare. To my knowledge there is no such place considered a hot spot nowadays in the area that you can go and find GWs guaranteed. In the med there is 1-2 sightings per year either by fishing or by open water encounter of boats. I believe the same stood for the US east coast GW population. Observation was here and there until the return of their natural prey around Cape Cod - Maine and Nova Scotia. When prey became abundant the GWs returned in numbers in areas people wouldn't even perceive as possible at the time. (F.e Maine 2020 fatal attack) I use Cape Cod as an example because is at a similar latitude in the other side of the Atlantic. If seals are booming in the UK there is no reason why IF any healthy GW population exist in East Atlantic and the Med can't make UK a hunting ground for seals during summer and Migrate south during winter. Sorry for the long post. Would love any thoughts. Cheers All 🍻

[@nqgamer]

We need to do a GoFundMe to get this dude to either South Africa (False Bay) or Australia for a shark doco on his channel.

[@ammarelle]

no we dont

[@zs8175]

Do a gofundme for me as well my wife left me

[@peppertuna]

Great white shark sightings in the British Isles seriously makes it feel like a local cryptid. There's loads of erroneous reports that can be easily explained, and just a handful of more likely stories. People really want it to be true that they're in the U.K., but the thing is it's more plausible to be possible in certain conditions than any megalodon or bigfoot sighting.

[@SHARKBYTES]

It’s true, there’s hundreds of alleged sightings, but like you say, only a handful that we see here which are somewhat believable

[@The_Greedy_Orphan]

In this day and age, I'm gonna have to say, if there's no footage, it didn't happen. Everyone has a smartphone nowadays, only takes a sec to bring it out and take a photo, especially if the shark is hanging around the boat. Still, as fascinating as they might be, we can't forget that the biggest killers in British waters are rip tides, cold water shock and stupidity (ie jumping off a 50ft cliff into shallow water).

[@JohnWilliams-hw9yn]

A great, really entertaining video. The last couple of sightings have a whiff of credibility about them because of the people involved, and there being some evidence. The rest feel like old fishermen’s tales, and the post Jaws syndrome of seeing any large shark and saying it’s a great white. I hope they aren’t there, as some idiots will only either want to hunt them, or worse, try and get a selfie with them. No shark deserves that.

[@AshMundo]

Uk has the biggest seal population in Europe. Porbegal, Thresher and Macko are here, so it is possible. Great Whites are in Canadian waters, so I can see it here.

[@shamusatha4700]

Great whites are more than capable of surviving out waters they one a few sharks that CAN regulate their body temperature to that of the surrounding waters even tiger sharks swim past out waters on the very rare occasions if tigers can swim through our waters a great white most certainly can main reason why we don't have them permanently is the lack of prey sources but it's very easily possible

[@TheTwoFingeredBulldog]

Great whites can control their body temperature so being in waters colder than Australia, south Africa and the US wouldn't be a problem, they've been found in alaska with an average temperature colder than Britain. The biggest question is, if they're not in British waters, what's the reason they're not here? It's pretty much a perfect habitat.

[@Lee_reid]

I know it’s not British but there has been sightings in Ireland too and I’m pretty sure a great white shark washed up on one of the beaches in cork

[@leewilde8947]

Being attacked by a shark is my biggest phobia... Irrational infact, Considering I live in the middle of Birmingham I know full well it will never happen, They are amazingly fascinating creatures though and I love to watch footage of Deep Blue

[@brojajacra]

In the summer Scottish waters absolutely are NOT too cold for the GWS. They are in fact ideal as they are warmed by the north atlantic drift and have some of teh highest numbers of seals in Europe

[@Timesend]

Are big mako sharks common in the uk ?

[@stevencarter87]

Just found this channel love it well done! 🦈

[@thomasrowe6793]

Great video, this is always a really interesting topic. I can't see any reason why they don't occasionally wonder into our waters.

[@j.dmetalhead7517]

As you said in part 1. There just isn't a large enough seal population to feed great whites for a long period. So they may just be a shark "passing through"

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Sort of like a truck stop for sharks…🙂

[@turtlejeepjen314]

I’m here now, but not leaving for part 1 until I’m good & ready.

[@martinjervis1558]

Very interested in this and do believe that Great Whites are coming here, what about the sighting at Baggy point in north Devon have you heard of that one also herd of reporters of a possible Great White around Portsmouth 👍

[@cm-oo1td]

After watching that guy from the isle of man who's done some good videos on great whites in our water's before he changed to making camping and boat videos and never really convincing me. This one's convinced me 😮 their here I'm 100% certain

[@janereid100]

My son saw a Great White shark swimming just off the beach at Ardnamurchan on the West Coast of Scotland, he was sitting on rocks not more than 20 feet away from it. It was July in the early 2000s, he was studying Marine Biology at the time, it was a very hot even the water wasn't as cold as it normally is.

[@paulhoad9010]

I was under the impression that there was a confirmed case of a Great White sighting of the coast of North Devon near Combe Martin.

[@roymacdonald1264]

I have no doubt whatsoever. !! Definitely one or two passing thru from time to time .

[@jackcareslade8109]

Best shark thingy I watch good work keep it up x