While they might not be the stuff of Spielberg movies, the Sealife Aquarium in Rhyl, insist that the fish - otherwise known as the lesser-spotted dogfish - are members of the shark family.

The dogfish sharks, born in the aquarium five years ago, were released as part of a breeding and conservation programme.

"They are a huge attraction here," said Julia Griffith, marketing director of the aquarium.

Shark fascination

"Everybody is fascinated by sharks and we try to show British sharks so that people realise that it's not just the great, big sharks that live in our oceans.

"We try to get over that there are sharks native to Britain and people can come and have a close look at them here."

The Dogfish shark grows up to 1m and is one of the commonest sharks in the world.

It is often found around the mouths of estuaries and feeding over tidal flats and can live up to 70 years.