UK Sharks and Dogfish for Anglers

By Alex Clayton · Updated 24 October 2026

The Shark Trust counts more than 40 shark species in British waters, and over half of them are Threatened or Near Threatened.

UK shark fishing is a genuine branch of sea angling. It runs from lesser spotted dogfish off a shingle beach to blue sharks taken well offshore, and the Shark Trust reports no potentially dangerous shark species in British waters.

The catch is that the most sought-after sharks grow slowly and are protected. Knowing what you can land matters as much as the tackle you take.

Below, the inshore species are split from the offshore ones and compared in one table, followed by blue sharks in detail, the law on landing sharks and how to release them well.

Which Sharks Do UK Anglers Actually Catch?

The shark you are most likely to catch in the UK is a dogfish, not a blue shark, and you will often hook it while fishing for something else.

According to the Shark Trust, around 20 species of shark, skate and ray may be met by sea anglers in the UK and Ireland. The sharks among them fall into two groups, and the group decides your tackle, budget and boat.

Inshore sharks (shore and small-boat fishing):

Lesser spotted dogfish: the small shark most beach and pier anglers meet first.
Bull huss: a larger relative of the dogfish, often met over rough and rocky ground.
Smoothhounds: found over sandy and gravelly bottoms.
Spurdog: still targeted by anglers but Endangered in Europe, so check current rules before you keep one.
Tope: the largest of the inshore sharks, and the one with the strictest landing rules.

Offshore sharks (charter boat only):

Blue shark: the main offshore target, covered in full below.
Porbeagle: treated as a prohibited species, so every one goes back (see the rules section).
Common thresher: a less frequent offshore catch, recognisable by its long, scythe-like tail.

Of the 40-plus shark species in UK waters, these eight are the ones anglers meet, and five need no charter.

If you are new to sea fishing, start with dogfish and smoothhounds from the shore before paying for an offshore trip. For everything else that swims around the coast, see all UK sea fish species.

UK Shark Species Compared: Size, Where to Find Them and Status

One table tells you which sharks are a realistic target and which you should only ever photograph and release.

Maximum lengths come from the Shark Trust species pages. They are record sizes, not typical fish, and they are lengths in metres rather than weights.

Species	Max length (Shark Trust)	Where anglers meet it	Conservation status
Blue shark	about 3.83 m	Oceanic, offshore by charter boat	Near Threatened globally and in Europe
Porbeagle	about 3.55 m	Offshore	Critically Endangered in Europe (2015), Vulnerable globally (2019)
Common thresher	about 5.75 m	Offshore	Vulnerable globally, Endangered in Europe
Tope	about 1.95 m	Inshore; pregnant females move into estuaries and bays to pup	Vulnerable globally and in Europe
Spurdog	about 1.25 m	See spurdog page	Endangered in Europe (2015)
Starry smoothhound	about 1.4 m	Sandy and gravelly bottoms	See Shark Trust
Lesser spotted dogfish	See species page	Inshore, a regular catch from shore and boat	See species page
Bull huss	See species page	Inshore, rough and rocky ground	See species page

Status matters to anglers because sharks mature slowly and breed at low rates, so a depleted stock takes a long time to recover. The porbeagle shows how slow that can be: males mature at about 8 years, females at about 13, and they live to around 26.

An IUCN label is not the same as the law, though. The legal position is set out in the rules section below.

Compare the two ends of the table: tope are Vulnerable and cannot be landed by rod anglers in England or Wales, while dogfish are one of the commonest catches on the coast.

Blue Shark Fishing in the UK

Blue sharks can migrate more than 9,000 km in a year, according to the Shark Trust. The blue shark you hook off the British coast is a visitor passing through, not a resident.

That explains how blue shark fishing in the UK works. The blue is an oceanic species that reaches about 3.83 m and prefers water between 12 and 20°C. It lives in open water rather than over inshore marks, which makes it a charter-boat target and not a shore fish.

Because blues favour that temperature band, skippers time trips for when the sea suits them. Season dates vary from year to year and port to port, so ask the charter when blues are showing for them rather than relying on a calendar you found online.

Discuss tackle with the skipper when you book a blue shark UK trip, since the boat usually sets the method for the day.

Blue sharks are Near Threatened globally and in Europe, so treat every one as catch and release. The release section below covers how.

The same offshore water can also hold porbeagle and thresher. Porbeagle is treated as a prohibited species, which the next section explains.

Best for: anglers who want a big-fish day on a boat and are happy to release everything. Skip if: you get seasick easily, or you want fish to take home.

UK Shark Fishing Rules: Tope, Porbeagle and What You Can Land

Size does not decide whether you can keep a tope. In England and Wales, a rod-caught tope cannot be landed at all.

Species	England	Wales	Scotland and Northern Ireland
Tope	Rod-caught tope may not be landed	Rod-caught tope may not be landed	Check with the Marine Directorate (Scottish Government) or DAERA
Porbeagle	Treated as prohibited: release it	Treated as prohibited: release it	Release it, and confirm with the Marine Directorate or DAERA
Angel shark	Return to the water	Return to the water	Return it, and confirm with the Marine Directorate or DAERA
Any shark with fins removed	Cannot be landed	Cannot be landed	Cannot be landed

Tope in England. The Tope (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 2008 bans fishing for tope by any method other than rod and line (article 3(1)). Article 5 then bans landing in England any tope caught by rod and line, and any beheaded tope. GOV.UK guidance puts it plainly: recreational anglers cannot land any tope, dead or alive, caught from a boat.

Tope in Wales. Wales has its own Tope Order with the same rod-and-line rule and the same ban on landing rod-caught tope.

Scotland and Northern Ireland. The England Order’s fishing and retention articles do not apply there, so check with the Marine Directorate or DAERA before keeping a tope.

Porbeagle. The Shark Trust lists porbeagle as a prohibited species, and it is on CITES Appendix II. Release every one, and confirm current rules with GOV.UK or the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

Finning and angel sharks. The UK does not permit landing sharks with their fins removed. Angel sharks caught by accident must be returned to the water.

Spurdog, smoothhound, dogfish and huss. Rules on these can change, so check the MMO and your local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) before keeping any. The tope page has the full tope rules.

For uk shark fishing, treat every tope and porbeagle as catch and release, whatever the boat and whichever nation you land in.

Catch and Release: Handling Sharks and When to Leave Them Alone

The single best thing you can do for a shark you plan to release is keep it in the water.

The Shark Trust’s angling guidance sets out four principles:

Keep the fish in the water where possible. Unhook it at the side of the boat or in the shallows rather than hauling it on deck or up the beach.
Avoid tail-hooking. The Shark Trust singles out threshers here, whose long tails make them prone to it.
Follow Shark Trust handling guides. Read them before the trip, not with a fish on the line.
Record your catch. Catch records help build a picture of how UK shark stocks are doing.

Timing matters as much as handling. The Shark Trust advises against targeting porbeagle from April to August, and against targeting adult female threshers from March to June. If those species are the likely catch on a mark at those times, fish for something else.

Tope need extra care inshore. Pregnant females move into estuaries and bays to pup, so a big tope hooked close in could be a female carrying young. Handle her gently and get her back quickly.

All of this comes back to the point under the comparison table above: sharks mature slowly, and a fish lost to poor handling takes years to replace.

If you catch a shark you can’t identify, photograph it in the water and release it.

Booking a UK Shark Fishing Charter: What to Ask the Skipper

A shark trip is a big day out, and the questions you ask before booking tell you more than the photos on the skipper’s page.

Ask these before you pay a deposit:

Which species do you target, and do you avoid porbeagle between April and August, as the Shark Trust advises?
Is everything released, and how do you handle fish at the side of the boat?
Is tackle provided, or do I bring my own?
Where do you sail from, and how far offshore do you go?
When are blue sharks usually showing for you?

The last answer is the most useful season guide you will get, because it comes from someone who fishes those waters through the season.

Book the shark fishing UK charter whose skipper releases everything and knows the rules without being asked.

Frequently asked questions

Are there dangerous sharks in UK waters?

No. The Shark Trust reports no potentially dangerous shark species in British waters. The sharks UK anglers usually meet are dogfish, bull huss, smoothhounds and tope inshore, with blue sharks offshore.

Can you keep a tope in the UK?

Not if you land it in England or Wales. Separate 2008 Orders in both nations ban landing rod-caught tope. For Scotland and Northern Ireland, check with the Marine Directorate or DAERA. See the rules section above.

How many shark species are in UK waters?

More than 40, according to the Shark Trust, and over half are Threatened or Near Threatened. Around 20 species of shark, skate and ray are met by UK and Irish sea anglers.

Can you catch a blue shark in the UK?

Yes, from charter boats offshore when the sea sits in the blue shark's preferred 12 to 20°C range. Release every fish, because blues are Near Threatened, and ask the skipper when they are showing.