Angels off the coast of Wales
Mae Dorricott
Angel Shark Project: Wales was launched in June 2018 and aims to better understand and safeguard the Critically Endangered Angelshark (Squatina squatina) through fisher participation, heritage and citizen science.
The project is led by 3 core members: Joanna Barker (Zoological Society of London), Ben Wray (Natural Resources Wales) and Project Coordinator Jake Davies (Zoological Society of London).
Here, we hear more from Jake Davies and how Angel Shark Project: Wales is getting on…
ASP:W team –Joanna Barker (Left), Jake Davies (Middle), Ben Wray (Right)
Jake tell us a bit about yourself?
Coming from a maritime family and living along the coast of the Llŷn Peninsula, Wales, meant that from a young age the underwater world and species has played a major role in my life. Therefore, it was inevitable that I would end up studying marine biology at University. It was whilst undertaking a placement year with Natural Resources Wales that I got involved with Angelsharks; I helped in establishing the Angelshark pilot project and led fisher engagement during the summer of 2017.
Following the completion of my degree I was fortunate to become the Project Coordinator for Angel Shark Project: Wales. As well as Angelsharks I have also an interest in Seagrass habitats and am a regional ambassador for Project Seagrass assisting in outreach and surveys of the habitats.
Jake doing an Interview for BBC Radio Wales
What is the main aim of the project?
Angel Shark Project: Wales is unique, multi-disciplinary and has a variety of key partners all focusing on the aim to safeguard one of the world’s rarest sharks.
As part of the project there are 4 main project areas:
Fisher Engagement – working alongside the fishing community to gather records
History of Angels – Angelshark History Roadshow & volunteer Angelshark research.
Dive For Angels – Citizen Science Dive & Snorkel Surveys
Wales Angelsharks Action plan – identifying the next steps needed to safeguard Angelsharks
The project works closely with fishers and fishing associations as they are the most likely to accidentally encounter Angelsharks during their fishing activity (targeted fishing for Angelsharks is illegal). Through regular contact and awareness raising, the project hopes to gather vital historic and current data on Angelsharks off the Welsh coast. Fishers also have the opportunity to take part in collecting important genetic information from any Angelsharks they accidentally encounter, using genetic packs supplied by the project. To illustrate how to safely handle and release an accidentally caught Angelshark, as well as general information about the species, we produced a ‘Best Practice and information leaflet’ similar to that of the Angel Shark Project: Canary Islands.
Angelshark Best practice and Information leaflet
The historic element of the project aims to gather historic information about Angelsharks off the Welsh coast and understand how they link with Welsh maritime heritage. Historic sources range from memories, photos and old newspaper clippings. As part of this element we will be running five ‘Angelshark History Roadshows’ across the coast of Wales, focusing on our key areas. These events will allow local communities to share vital historic information about Angelshark and their Welsh connection.
To find out more about where and when the roadshows are happening visit: https://angelsharknetwork.com/wales/
Angelshark History Roadshow poster
The end goal of our project is to bring all stakeholders together to develop the Wales Angelshark Action Plan, highlighting key steps to secure the future of Angelsharks in Welsh waters. By creating this action plan it will be contributing to the wider Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Angel Shark Conservation Strategy.
How can we get involved?
There are a variety of ways to get involved with the project. If you are a keen snorkeler or scuba diver, you can get involved as a citizen science snorkeler or diver in the ‘Dive for Angels’ surveys. Through undertaking these surveys, we aim to better understand the status and ecology of the species off the Welsh coast.
You can join the Angelshark History Roadshow as it travels around Wales – to share your memories of Angelsharks or information about the local area. All events are free to attend on a “drop in” basis:
You can also get involved by volunteering with our History of Angels research project to unearth clues in local libraries, archives and museums. Trained citizen scientists will help to scour local libraries, archives, historic magazines and museums for information on Angelsharks and other shark, skate and ray stories.
Find out more about the project and how you can get involved by visiting the project website https://angelsharknetwork.com/wales/ or get in contact at Angelsharks@zsl.org
Finally, you can help by sharing information about this project with anyone who may be interested in finding out more or who may have encountered an Angelshark off the Welsh coast. Reports of Angelsharks can be reported through the Angel Shark Sightings Map (http://sites.zsl.org/angelsharks/). This information will then be shared amongst Partners and Collaborators to help better understand and conserve these Critically Endangered sharks.