Louise Hubball The Politics Show South West

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The porbeagle shark can be spotted off the Cornwall coast, but rarely

Over the summer, the region saw its first cage diving trips to see sharks off the Cornish coast.

More than 1,000 people applied for the chance to have a close encounter with a blue, thresher or porbeagle shark.

But as shark tourism increases with boating and diving trips, the likelihood of seeing one is growing slimmer and slimmer.

This week, members of European Parliament voted on new measures to protect the rapidly dwindling shark population.

The line which chilled cinema goers in the 70s, was "just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water".

Delicacy

In reality, humans have always posed a far greater risk to the sharks, than the other way round.

One of things that threaten the sharks, who visit out coasts, has its origins thousands of miles away, and is the very thing that has made them such effective predators.

Sharks' fins are considered such a delicacy in the Far East, and the hunting of the sharks for these fins is threatening the species.

The British Shark Angling Society is based in Looe, and in the 50s tourists flocked there, to see sharks weighed on the quay.

They still strike fear at their very sight...

Due to a dramatic drop in numbers, these grisly trophies have now been firmly relegated to the local pub.

Melvyn Toms has fished sharks for over 40 years, and now hosts diving trips to see them.

All sharks that are caught are now tagged and thrown back.

Numbers sink

There is a small reward for the return of the tag, which gives the fishes' vital statistics, providing a clue to their migratory paths.

"In the 70s," says Melvyn , "we were catching in the region of 2-3,000 sharks, running with a par each year, 71, 72 and then in 73, they declined quite dramatically to, I think it was, 1,700.

"And since then it has been a decline.

"But I think it seems to be accelerating now. Now in 2006, it's down to a figure of around 150 for the year, of Blue Sharks caught in Looe."

One of threats is the popularity of shark fin soup.

It is believed to have special healing properties in the Far East.

It can sell for up to �65 a bowl.

Fin protection

In some aquariums, divers can form 'working' relationships with sharks

Previously, sharks were thrown back into the sea after having their fins hacked off, whilst they were still alive.

Since 2003 this practice has been illegal, but it is believed it does still happen.

To clamp down on this, there is a fin to carcass ratio... current EU regulations say that fins must not exceed 5% of the total carcasses landed and bought back to shore.

Troubled waters

Spain is the biggest supplier of shark fins in the EU, and they want the current fin ratio to be raised to 6.5%, allowing more sharks to be caught.

But an alternative motion has been put to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to reduce the ratio to 2%, to try and protect the population.

Supporters, such as the Shark Trust, say this is in line with scientific findings.

"We require sharks for our ecosystem, explains Alison Hood of the Shark Trust, "they maintain the balance, in our ecosystem, so it would be incredibly short sighted to think they're not critical.

"We are merely seeking appropriate management for our shark populations.

The ultimate killing animal

Success

"If this proposed amendment goes through it would be devastating for shark populations and would put us a step further back in European shark management."

Whilst we were filming, Alison received a phone call. The European Parliament has taken a vote on the issue.

"We got all three amendments," she said, "it was a strong vote in favour of removing the ratio for sharks."

But, due to the EU constitution, this will not be final decision.

That is due to be taken by the Council of Ministers in Brussels at the end of October.

South West MEP, Neil Parish, hopes they will follow the parliament's lead.

"You see, had the UK Government supporting us with our amendments, we've got the Belgians. We've got the Germans, we've got quite a lot of the nations who are welfare conscious and conservation conscious, really supporting us on this and it will take action.

"And the problem as always it takes too much time, we need action now."

This summer has seen the first cage dives off the coast of Cornwall, and it is ironic that shark tourism has taken off in the South West, as numbers are dwindling.

For a predator which has evolved over 450 million years, the Council of Ministers' final decision could therefore be one of the most crucial challenges it has faced.

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