Porbeagle Shark

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

When a newspaper reports a “great white off Cornwall”, the fish in the photo is usually a porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus). According to The Wildlife Trusts, no great white has ever been recorded in UK seas.

The porbeagle is a large, warm-bodied mackerel shark found around the UK coast, and the IUCN lists it as Critically Endangered in Europe. Release every one you hook. The legal reason differs between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

This guide covers identification, the law in each nation, the season to avoid, and handling and tagging. For the wider picture, see our guide to UK shark species.

How to Identify a Porbeagle Shark

One mark does most of the work: a white patch at the rear base of the first dorsal fin. Look for it first, then confirm with the rest of the checklist.

Grey back and white underside
White blotch at the back of the first dorsal fin
Very small second dorsal and anal fins
A deep, crescent-shaped tail
A heavy, torpedo-shaped body

The Wildlife Trusts gives a maximum size for the porbeagle shark of 365cm (about 12ft) and roughly 507 lb (230 kg). Treat that as a maximum, not a typical fish.

The Wildlife Trusts also describes the porbeagle as endothermic: it can hold its body temperature above that of the surrounding water, which lets it hunt in colder seas than many other sharks.

Shark	Key feature	Build
Porbeagle	White patch at rear of first dorsal fin, crescent tail	Stocky, torpedo-shaped
Blue shark	Deep blue back, very long pectoral fins	Long and slim
Tope	Grey, no white dorsal patch	Slim and smaller
Great white	No confirmed UK record (The Wildlife Trusts)	Not applicable

Most sharks UK anglers actually catch are smaller species such as tope, smoothhound and spurdog, all covered in our fish identification guide. If you see that white dorsal patch, treat the fish as a porbeagle and follow the release advice below.

Can You Keep a Porbeagle? The Law in Each UK Nation

The porbeagle is not on the Wildlife and Countryside Act, yet landing one from a boat in Scotland can still bring an unlimited fine. Both are true because separate rules cover Scottish landings, commercial vessels and protected wildlife.

Scotland. The Sharks, Skates and Rays (Prohibition of Fishing, Trans-shipment and Landing) (Scotland) Order 2012, in force since 30 March 2012, bans landing a porbeagle in Scotland caught by rod and line or hand-line from a boat the Order covers, wherever it was caught. Breach is an offence under the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967: a fine of up to £50,000 on summary conviction, unlimited on indictment, plus forfeiture.

Commercial vessels. Under retained EU Regulation 2017/2107, Article 31, vessels may not retain, tranship or land a porbeagle caught in association with ICCAT fisheries, and must release it promptly and unharmed.

Wildlife and Countryside Act. After JNCC’s 7th Quinquennial Review, the porbeagle was not added to Schedule 5. The Angling Trust reported in January 2026 that this brings no new restrictions on recreational angling.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We found no specific recreational angling statute, and secondary sources disagree. Your Angling Voice, an angling consultancy, lists retention as banned in UK recreational fishing. The Shark Angling Club of Great Britain is reported to have said in 2020 that its legal advice found no restrictions outside Scotland, though we could not confirm that statement at source.

Where	Keep or land?	Legal basis
Scotland, rod and line from a boat	Landing prohibited	SSI 2012/63
England, Wales, NI (recreational)	Do not keep	No specific angling statute found
Commercial vessels	Retention and landing prohibited, release promptly	Retained EU Reg 2017/2107, Art 31
Wildlife and Countryside Act	Not listed on Schedule 5	Angling Trust, January 2026

Check the current position with the Marine Management Organisation (England), the Welsh Government, DAERA (Northern Ireland) or the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate. Whatever they say, release it.

Why the Porbeagle Is Critically Endangered in Europe

A female porbeagle in the North Atlantic is around 13 years old before she can breed. According to the Shark Trust, males mature at about 8 years and the species lives up to 26 years. Every adult lost takes a long time to replace.

That slow life history explains the commercial row in the law table above. There has been no allowed commercial catch since 2010.

The IUCN considers the porbeagle shark Critically Endangered in Europe, according to the University of Exeter. That is a regional assessment, so a site quoting the global listing may show a different category. Check the IUCN Red List for the current global status.

The same source puts tope at Vulnerable and blue shark at Near Threatened in Europe. That places the porbeagle two categories above tope and three above blue shark.

Where and When Porbeagles Turn Up in UK Waters

The months porbeagles are easiest to find are largely the months the Shark Trust asks you not to fish for them.

The Wildlife Trusts says porbeagles occur around all UK coasts and are best seen from June to October. Press reports collected by British Sea Fishing place catches off Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Yorkshire and Pembrokeshire. As open-water sharks, they are mostly met offshore from boats and charters rather than from the shore.

The Shark Trust asks anglers to avoid targeting porbeagle from April to August, when pregnant females are moving through British waters. Take June, July and August out of the sighting season and only September and October remain.

The Trust’s wider position is that no group should target Critically Endangered species. It does support monitoring by experienced anglers and skippers who use best-practice catch and release and record every fish.

If porbeagle shark fishing is on your list, book a skipper with shark experience who logs catches, and go in September or October. If you were planning a spring or summer trip aimed at porbeagle, change the target species.

How to Handle and Release a Porbeagle Safely

In a University of Exeter-led study of almost 70 blue, porbeagle and tope sharks caught by anglers around the British Isles, fewer than 5% died after release.

The study, published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, recorded three deaths, one of each species. Two of them, a porbeagle and a tope, had been deep-hooked and released with the hook still in. Most recovered within 24 hours, but porbeagles sometimes took longer. Researcher Francesco Garzon concluded that survival is high when anglers follow best-practice guidelines.

Angling Trust and Shark Trust guidance comes down to five steps:

Use tackle strong enough to keep the fight short.
Set up your rig and strike to reduce the chance of deep hooking.
Keep a large shark in the water. Do not haul it aboard.
Handle it carefully and release it promptly.
Record the catch.

For hook removal and tagging technique, follow the full Shark Trust and Shark Angling Club of Great Britain (SACGB) guides. If you fish for blue shark or tope where porbeagles turn up, rig as if one could take the bait.

Porbeagle Tag and Release: How Anglers Help the Science

The Angling Trust calls anglers a key data source on sharks, and the porbeagle records back that up.

The SACGB was founded in Looe in 1953. According to the Marine Biological Association, it takes part in the US NOAA Cooperative Shark Tagging Program, which has tagged over 295,000 sharks worldwide since 1962. Anglers have recorded about 1,300 porbeagles since 1953.

The Angling Trust favours a code of conduct over more legislation. To take part, contact the SACGB or the Shark Trust for their current tagging and recording schemes, or fish with a skipper who already tags.

If you can’t tag it, still record the catch.

Frequently asked questions

Is it illegal to keep a porbeagle shark in the UK?

In Scotland, landing a porbeagle caught by rod and line from a boat is an offence under SSI 2012/63, and commercial vessels must release them under retained EU Regulation 2017/2107. We found no specific angling statute for England, Wales or Northern Ireland, but release it anyway and check with the MMO, Welsh Government or DAERA.

Is the porbeagle protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act?

No. The porbeagle was not added to Schedule 5 after JNCC's 7th Quinquennial Review, as the Angling Trust reported in January 2026. It is still Critically Endangered in Europe and still covered by the Scottish landing ban and the commercial retention rules.

Is a porbeagle a great white shark?

No. The porbeagle is a separate species from the same mackerel shark group and is often mistaken for a great white, especially in press reports. The Wildlife Trusts says no great white has ever been recorded in UK seas. To tell a porbeagle, look for the white patch at the back of the first dorsal fin.